Asking for Help

I will post about the last few days of the Dreams Come True trip soon. We have several huge events coming up, and I wanted to mention them. Next Saturday (less than a week away!!) our family is holding a Bass Fishing Tournament to raise money for Tucker's medical expenses. My cousins (Ryan, Amy, Jenny, & Eddie) asked last summer if they could hold a benefit for Tucker, and Chris and I said yes. The dates haven't worked out until now, and it is turning out to be a perfect weekend for fishing. There will be fishermen from all over Louisiana, and then they will all come to the Cabela's in Gonzales to weigh in and see who wins. Well I have never been to a fishing tournament before, but I think this one is going to be pretty fun! Family members have gone all over and got great door prizes, along with Cabela's donating a big prize pack as a door prize, so even if the fishermen don't win they have a chance to get great prizes. They have gotten all food, drinks, supplies, entertainment (Zydeco band), and advertisement donated. There are 5 billboards up around Baton Rouge with Tucker's face on them!! I posted the picture at the top of the blog, but it came out kind of small. I finally saw the billboard yesterday, as I don't usually travel the main highways to avoid traffic. All I can say is "wow." That is what I have been saying a lot, as they tell me about the checks that are coming in, the people who have donated their time and services....Tucker has been discussed in two sermons at local churches around town, and has become more famous than he will ever realize! Chris and I are good at many things....but asking for help is NOT one of them. Chris and I are both the oldest child in our families (except for my sister Jessica of course;) ), and our natural response to most things is to offer help, not ask for it. Editing papers, fixing resume's, finding jobs, helping with kids, parties, or showers, we are the go-to people for this kind of stuff. We like helping, and we are used to it. For almost 5 years now (yes, Tucker is almost that old!), people have been offering us help, and we don't really know how to accept it. We both have this "super parent" complex for some reason, maybe because for so long we didn't get to do anything for Tucker in the NICU, so once he was home, we wanted to do as much for him as possible. So thankfully, Chris and I didn't have to ask for help, our family is doing that for us. When it comes to raising money, I don't even know where to start. They have gone out to local businesses, been on TV shows, and planned an amazing event. They hope to make it an annual event (generally fishing tournaments are held every year.) I have seen some typically shy people go way out of their comfort zones for us and for Tucker, and I am just amazed at what people have been willing to do and to give for our family. People may wonder where all the money will go, and the true answer is I don't know exactly. There are deductibles, co-insurance, out of pocket costs for over the counter meds and supplements (the mito cocktail gets expensive!), trips to Houston (a 2-day trip costs us about $400, and that's without hotel costs), and then the therapies-I think we spent $2,000 on therapies last summer, and that is with Chris's insurance covering 80%. Tucker always seem to come up with expenses when we least expect it! A good friend of mine told me the other day "It doesn't matter how much money y'all have, you and Chris will always put 100% into helping Tucker. If y'all had $1000 you would spend it on him; if you had $100,000 y'all would spend it on him. There are probably feeding therapies and other ideas y'all haven't even considered because of the cost, so the more money you have, the more opportunities will open up to him." We are hoping to have a great day. My biggest concern right now is how Tucker will act on that day! I just never know what to expect out of him. For example, yesterday morning he and I rocked and rested all morning, so he was in the best mood yesterday for Mrs. Mia in the afternoon when she watched him. If that is the case next Saturday, I would bring him to more of the tournament. But if he is having an "off" day, my goodness, we might only make it to 30 minutes of the weigh-in! So please pray this week for everyone involved with the tournament (especially the men who have to wake up at 1AM to get to the check-in points at 3AM, then be there until 6AM, then drive to Gonzales to set up!), and pray that Tucker has a near-perfect day so that everyone who has helped or donated to us can see him in a happy mood on Saturday. Cabela's is one of his favorite places, so I think he and I will spend a fair amount of time inside on the escalators, even though the tournament is outside. But then he loves outside and parking lots, so we will hope for the best!