10/31/2009
by Michael Wells My poor baby is being poked at once again: eye drops! He’s back sleeping and it’s just about as nice as it can be. I truly love this time of day; it’s so quiet, so calm, and so nice. It had to be a little more hectic a dyslexic 36 years ago when my mother was home in labor and about to deliver a 13 lb. baby boy. This didn’t happen for another few hours but I cannot imagine she was getting much sleep on that particular night or for several years to follow. You see, my Mom had 9 children in just over 10 years. I don’t know how she coped and I’m not sure she does either but somehow she managed and somehow she raised all her children to be productive members of society. My Mom is still an active feisty 90 year old woman who still yells at her son about not calling her before 8am every day to give her an update on her 21st grandchild – Brady. She is about as remarkable a person of any I know. That is until I had the unbelievable honor of meeting Ellen Gambatese. Ellen is the wife of the mayor of South Brunswick New Jersey. By sheer coincidence we met her through her husband Frank. We live near a park that 4 wheelers like to use as their playground and Sherrie has contacted just about every town official she could find to complain and Frank was one of them. She discovered Frank and Ellen were actually our neighbors and consequently Sherrie invited them to a holiday cocktail party and then a barbeque and we would bump into them during our many walks. Ellen working in her garden, Frank always running to his next meeting or town event. But somehow, Frank and Ellen always had time to chat with us even if it meant us complaining about whatever to the mayor almost not stop. Well, ever since Brady has been in the hospital Frank and Ellen have been just remarkable. Ellen has organized thousands (yes thousands) of people to pray for Brady. She has cooked dinner and has shared inspirational stories and emails from people who have also gone through what Brady is experiencing. Frank is a member of the board of directors for St. Peter’s Hospital and has offered to have Brady’s case reviewed by their staff. She and Frank are just about as giving as humanly possible. The Gambateses are good people, caring neighbors and excellent friends. I wonder why this type of “stuff” never gets reported in the news. So, before I ramble on and on: Thank you Frank and Ellen and oh yes, Thank you Mom – after all it is my birthday…“8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer” is a series of posts revisiting the journal kept by Sherrie and Michael Wells during the cancer diagnosis and treatment of their son, Brady Michael. Hopefully these entires will provide an understanding of the journey families face when dealing with these horrific diseases and of the important work the Hugs for Brady Foundation does.