*DominicsBirthdayGiveBack

This is the hardest year of my life, this is also the year of many firsts. Dominic's 9th birthday without him. His birthday is special, he was my Christmas Eve baby in 2012. To keep my mind occupied, I thought about a way to give back to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. That unit is incredibly giving to families, ours included. Last year when we knew we'd be there for Christmas the social workers gave parents gift cards for their inpatient child and any siblings they have to be able to buy Christmas gifts. The pandemic has made it tough for them to take toy donations unless ordered through their wish list and sent directly to them. While that's still a fantastic idea to be able to put smiles on the faces of all the families affiliated with Barbara Bush Childrens Hospital it just didn't seem personal enough for me. I would love it if this year if you'd like to donate to this fund, I'd love to personally deliver a check to them to be able to purchase gift cards for food or gas for the families or toys and crafts for the kids. We didn't get the full experience we heard so much about while we were there because of the pandemic. Parents aren't allowed use of the cafeteria so you have to find other ways to eat, whether that's a food delivery service, bring in some foods to store in the family room fridge which you have to label it all, or make meals and bring them in. If you don't live close by, gas is always something you need especially with how much the cost of gas has gone up. These families are out of work to be with their child so I feel that this would provide a little help. The same help they gave to us while we were there. I'd love to be able to do a toy drive in the future when  COVID restrictions are (hopefully) gone. This will all be in memory of Dominic for his 9th birthday. If you can't donate that's perfectly ok, a share will be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you all so much -Kylie