Message from dad.. Gordon aka "G"

Hello, I am Gordon aka "G" Maia's dad, and this is my 1st blog entry. Rizza has done so well keeping everyone informed and updated on our journey. 

We all come across forks in the road on our different journeys in life.

I met a cool guy, John (from Roseville) and his family…. Our first meeting was in the Robinson Family Lounge at UCSF Benioff’s Children Hospital with his parents and his mother in-law. We joined hands and prayed for our families and our daughters who were in the hospital. It’s been over a month since they took their daughter, Karina, home. 

We also met a lady (sorry, I forgot her name) from Afghanistan that lives in the Central Valley. Thinking about her journey only made us stronger. Her little boy, about 2 years old, has his own complications with his heart, but she also has another son, whom we did not meet, who has been at UCSF for heart related surgery. I started thinking about her journey, the miles she has traveled, the oceans she has crossed, the days she has spent at the hospital and away from her home. I thanked God; just think that if she was in her native country with the technology and medical advancements being 20 plus years behind, she would have lost both her boys.  I don’t know how long she was here in the PCICU (pediatric cardiac intensive care unit) but I do know it was a second more than she or any parent would want to be.

Recently Miles, a CHD baby born at 26 weeks, went home. He had been here since his birth in June of this year. The family is from San Diego and had only been living in their newly bought home for 3 months. Their stay at the hospital has been for over 23 weeks. Miles’ dad’s work was able to accommodate him and he worked from wherever he could find space.

Since Miles has gone to another hospital closer to home, a few more kids have come and gone.  We do not talk to everyone because we are all on a different journey and whether we do or don’t that is part of my path, our journey, but we do smile and keep positive energy around us. At this time Maia has been in the unit the longest, nothing to boast about, no credit needed, but keeping it positive and in a way it is cool. Some families stay here for what seems like a day or two, and some for a couple of weeks.

During all this time, Rizza and I have been lucky enough to go home every night and sleep in our bed. Once in a while we get free water, snacks and coffee from the Ronald McDonald House sponsored coffee cart. Others on their journey have had to seek housing at the Ronald McDonald House, like John, the woman from Afghanistan, Miles’ parents and the others that have come and gone. We are running the Hot Chocolate run to raise money and awareness, and because we have met and are meeting some nice people along the way that have to live away from home and this is our way of supporting them. The RMH 100% of their donations go toward the people the help out. 

When 1st asked to run I said "no", partly because Rizza does a lot of runs, partly because I have back and right ankle and leg issues, but then when she told me it was for the Ronald McDonald House I said "YES of course". Rizza will be doing the 15k and I, Gordon, will be doing the 5k. Sign up at http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/sanfrancisco/ . We are asking for donations and sponsors for the run. We will be making a T-shirt that will be for sale in the beginning of January, on the front will be Maia’s nickname “Mighty Maia” and on the back will be all the sponsors’ logo and or name. The Hot Chocolate run is your donation to the Ronald McDonald House. Donations to the Maia fund can be made via the Heart of Maia blog, http://heartofmaia.blogspot.com/, showing support tab. For sponsorship information please email Gordon at meadgr@yahoo.com.