An Update on Mr. Tucker

Since I wrote that last post, Mr. Tucker has raised over $67,000 and as I type this, they should be just about to wrap up his double lung transplant!!  Last week Duke picked him up at MCV and flew him down there for evaluation.  He started getting better and was walking at the end of the week.  Early this week he made it on the transplant list and around noon today, he went in for surgery, as a donor had been found.  What an emotional whirlwind it has been.  I might have cried a little bit today thinking about how fast things have happened and how amazing it has been to be able to help in some small way.  My heart goes out to the family of the owner of these new lungs, but I'm sure they couldn't pick someone nicer than Tucker to get them.  It's been unbelievable watching his friends, family and many, many complete strangers come together to support him.    He's turned into a bit of a rockstar, and while I wish he didn't have to be sick to get there, I think he's pretty deserving of the title.  His story has been covered by the local news and radio stations and carried across the world through the internet and people just taking the time to talk about it.  There have been huge fundraisers and donations by complete strangers of just a few dollars.  It's all really adding up!

The kids' school has had several fun fundraisers which have allowed the boys to get involved and to understand how important it is to help people out.  As if we needed another reason to love our school, watching them come together over this has been amazing too.  There are pictures of Tucker every few feet in the building and they have raised thousands of dollars with penny wars and a date night and bracelet sales.  The boys have worn their HelpTuckerBreathe bracelets incessantly since they got them.  Jack asked me one day this week how long he should wear his bracelet.  I told him that was up to him and he said "I think I'll wear it until Mr. Tucker gets back to school."  They don't fully understand the gravity of the situation, but they do understand that someone they love is sick and that we need to do all that we can to help him get better.  

I posted this on the facebook page for Tucker last night but wanted to have it here for posterity as well. Max said something the other night that brought a tear to my eye...

Thanks to all of you that said a prayer or donated to Tucker or someone else who was in need.  It's nice to feel like the world can work together and help each other out.  We love you all and we love Mr. Tucker!  Can't wait to see what a rockstar he'll be when he can actually breathe!!