Steadman Family

I love incredibly easy ideas that have a positive impact on peoples lives. I feel that we miss opportunities as much of the focus is put into the overall fight against cancer and not into the day-to-day lives of patients and their care-givers. For me, it’s about finding a balance between the big and little initiatives.

My friend Michael Birdsong embodies this balance - he’s raised thousands of dollars for the LAF and has started a new project called “Chemo Rocks”. He’s collecting used iPods for use in the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Boulder, CO. He’s setup an iTunes server with thousands of songs and has iPods that patients can use while getting their treatments. It’s a really simple plan that can be easily executed to provide a little comfort during an otherwise crappy time.

My iPod wasn’t seeing much use since I upgraded to the iPhone and it’s now spending its days where it can do a little good. Please drop me a line if you have an underused iPod that needs a new home.

Thanks

It’s the economy, stupid.

I was laid off last week and have started the job hunt machine again. There’s never really a good time to be out of work, but I was starting to lose steam with Me.dium as they changed their product direction away from enabling implicit discovery of people as well as online content. I’m a huge believer in the power of meeting people based on what you’re doing online and hope that the folks still there find a way to make things profitable in the future.

So it’s on to bigger and better things for me. I’m focusing mainly on account and project management positions and have already started getting a few strong leads. Please keep your fingers crossed and ping me if you hear of any cool spots in the Denver/Boulder area.

A group of folks are trying to get a childhood cancer awareness postage stamp created. They’re a few thousand signatures short, but we can fix that. Right?

Please take two seconds to sign it.

Thanks

Congratulations and literally millions of thanks to everyone who donated to this years Child’s Play. They raked in over $1.1 million this year with every nickel of it going directly to the hospitals providing health care for children around the world.

Of course, they collect money all year long and many of the hospitals leave their wish list for those of you who missed your chance to donate during the holidays. It’s never too late to help provide a little comfort for a kid who needs a little extra love to get through a scary time.

The stockings are hung, the house is decked out and the girls have visions of sugar plums (and robo-panda’s) dancing through their heads. We’re getting ready to host our Christmas Eve party which is surprisingly small this year - only twenty people coming!

It’s been a good year here at Chez Steadman and we’re thankful to have two smiling (okay, one smiling & one crying) little girls. We’ll remember 07 as the year that we:

• marked the first anniversary of Ben’s death
• watched Lily crawl, walk and run
• lost my dad to cancer
• enjoyed Madie losing her first tooth
• enjoyed Lily getting her first tooth
• sent Madie off to first grade
• knocked Melinda up - again

Hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday.

Alex Kasnoff died yesterday and I haven’t really been able to write about until now (not sure if it’s early in the morning or late in the day at this point). Please keep the Kasnoff family in your thoughts.

Viewing/Visitation will be this Friday from 5:30 pm to 8 pm at Moore Howard Funeral Chapel at 4345 West 46th Avenue, Denver, CO 80212. Memorial service will be held on Saturday at the same location at 10am.

They ask that donations be made in Alex’s memory to support Children’s Hospital of Denver where he and Ben both were treated.

Neuro Oncology Research Fund
Children’s Hospital
13123 E 16th Ave
Aurora, CO 80045
Attn: Amy Wilson - Box 115

Thanks

Reading Alex Kasnoff’s blog this evening brought me back to a painful moment as we prepared for Ben’s death. It was the Monday evening after Ben’s last trip to see Dr. Foreman at Children’s Hospital in Denver that I wrote the following:

“I’ve been asking for some mercy to save him from slowly wasting away and it looks like my prayers are being answered.

We’re preparing Ben and Madie with the information that they need to face the events to come. I have no idea exactly what that means, but I know in my heart that Ben will be free from his cancer and pain. I have faith in an existence beyond our understanding and find comfort with Ben knowing more about it than I do. I am blessed to have had this time to learn from him.”

It was the hardest thing for me to do as a father. To let go of Ben and accept that he was going to die; to acknowledge that I had no ability to protect him; no way make things better; to offer him any comfort beyond my own fear and knowledge of our mortality; and to openly beg for my son not to suffer any further. Mercy isn’t a word that anyone should have to use.

My heart breaks to hear that Alex’s parents Gwen and Steve are now making the same prayers. Their family is never far from my thoughts.

I hope that everyone is having a happy Thanksgiving and gearing up for a wonderful holiday season. Melinda, Madie, Lily and I are certainly excited for the holidays this year, as we’ve had a wonderful, but bittersweet year. Preparing for the holidays always makes me miss Ben more than ever, but it also makes me thankful for having such a great son.

We ask that you keep Ben in your hearts this holiday season by taking a moment to reach out to help other families dealing with diffuse pontine glioma or other forms of pediatric cancer by making a donation in his memory.

Thank you and may these holidays bring love and peace to you all.

The Children’s Hospital of Denver

The doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital of Denver took great care of our family and so many others that we’ve met.

Please click here help us show the same support by making a donation.

Child’s Play

Supporting Child’s Play has become a holiday tradition for me. They have a very simple mission of providing comfort in the way of games and toys for dozens of hospitals around the US and around the world. They have no administrative fees (something that very few charities achieve), so 100% of your gift goes directly into the hands of a child.

Please click here to make a child’s time in the hospital a little more enjoyable.

Melinda is totally PG; knocked up; with child; in a motherly way; eating for two; baking something in the oven; knitting baby booties… you get the idea.

That’s right, we’re adding another bouncing baby Steadman to the clan. No official due date at this point, but we’ll post that as soon as we have word.

And yes, my boys can still swim!

We got the opportunity to go to Alex Kasnoff’s fifth birthday party last weekend. It was great to see how a party can overshadow the situation that a child is in and how important it is to surround ourselves with friends and family.

It’s hard watching another family go through their battle with a brain tumor and my words feel wrong as I speak to his parents Gwen and Steve. The bottom line is that they’re doing everything right for Alex - he’s comfortable, safe and surrounded by their love.