I know if I tried even more to show how thankful I am for all of the things people are doing for us, I would still come up short. I can't even remember all of the things. Sometimes we come home and there is dinner waiting for us, and I don't know who delivered it. Or there are presents for the kids left on the porch. I feel a little guilty because I am not good at remembering and finding time to write thank you notes.... still feeling bad about not sending out cards after our wedding. (Let it be known though, I did write about 5. Just never sent them off.) Thank you to those of you I haven't thanked, thank you again to those I already thanked. It is truly awesome! Some of the things we have received are blessings from kind people and businesses that aren't even aware of Ricky's situation. It's amazing!
Short list of things I can think of:
- care packages and baskets with games, food, snacks, blankets, lotion for Ricky and the family
- Gift cards for gas, food, iTunes, groceries
- Amazing hand made blankets for Ricky and one for each kid!
- Loaning us their fuel efficient car for the trip to Salt Lake
- Amazingly yummy and HUGE meals! With dessert! (we are getting fat!)
- Cleaning my house, doing the laundry
- Great deals on new tires for 2 of our cars
- money donated to set up a bedroom and nicer family room for Ricky to recover in. Mattress, T.V., new carpet, air filter etc.
- Money for bills
- Babysitting
- fun clothes, socks and jerseys for Ricky (best dressed kid around! At least he thinks so.)
- letters and notes with encouragement
- fruit trees planted in our yard
It can go on and on......
Just this week we got to see all of the help going on in Germany. Rick did a couple of interviews, and I got to listen to his answers while he talked on the phone. They wanted to know if we were basically just stressed out of our minds, and beside ourselves with grief and mourning. Rick said no, we aren't. He told them how blessed we have been, and how we have great doctors for Ricky. He told them how great Ricky is and how talented. He told them how sometimes we have been sad or scared for Ricky and cried about this. -- if you are ever in this situation I recommend staying away from sad movies, they can get you! -- But all in all Rick told them about our life here, and the blessings we have, about Ricky's cancer but also how well Ricky is doing. One of the articles touched on the good things and I thought it was pretty nice. The other one was extra dramatic though, or so it seemed. It said things like, "Ricky is in the hospital fighting for his life." I had to laugh at that, because at the time Ricky was shopping with his cousins and aunt in Park City, and when he came home he still had so much energy that he grabbed a big box that he found at our house and ran to the neighbors' houses with his sister to hide in the box and try to scare them. Not quite the same thing as fighting for your life in a hospital. I have written emails to a couple of older friends in Germany to make sure they aren't too worried after reading the paper. At the same time, we are extremely grateful for the kindness and concern being shown, and we understand that drama sells.... we are just not very dramatic people. (unless we get fired up at a basketball game or something)
I just wanted to say how thankful I am. Thankful for support from friends around the world. Thankful for support from family. Thankful for the gospel in my life, and the strength and peace that comes from knowing Heavenly Father's love and his plan, and knowing that it is true. Thankful for my amazingly wonderful husband.... I really caught a great fish on that one (but then again they always say the best fishing is in Alaska!!! It was worth the trip up there for sure). I have 8 amazing kiddos! It is so fun. My life is over flowing with chaos, adventure, and love! I can get a good hug at anytime I want one. I can't come anywhere near being able to count all my blessings. I am spoiled!
I realize not everyone would want to have my life. And yesterday I was thinking of all the fun things you could do with just 2 kids. There weren't enough of them to trade what I have. :) Then I thought, "how much more fun would 10 kids be!?" Then I quickly stopped thinking about that as well. :) I'm in love with my life how it is. Crazy, messy, cancer and all. What an amazing opportunity to grow and become greater.
Ricky is doing great! His body is strong, he feels good. Yesterday he played some basketball (obviously not at the same rate he was at, but he still played) Rick was so excited for him, and excited about how good he is, and still can be. I guess Ricky had fun, then came home and was exhausted. I asked him if it was fun to play again, he replied, "at the time." In other words, 'it was fun, but now I'm paying the price.' I love that kid!
The point of this post was to say that we see miracles in our lives. We are thankful for those miracles. And we know that many of those miracles have come to us because of the many thousands of prayers and thoughtful acts of those around us. Truly amazing stuff going on. But I have to stop writing now, someone has come in to give me cuddles and hugs.
I am forever indebted.
Translation follows:
Rick Stafford: Unsere Herzen sind in Bamberg
Ein Bild aus glücklicheren Tagen: Rick Staffords Sohn Ricky (rechts) ist an Krebs erkrankt. Die Brose Baskets Bamberg wollen jetzt ihrem ehemaligen Spieler helfen. Foto: privat
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Rick Stafford hat große Siege mit den Bamberger Basketballern gefeiert. Er ist den Fans der Brose Baskets noch im Gedächtnis als Teil der legendären Mannschaft, die 2005 die deutsche Meisterschaft zum ersten Mal nach Bamberg holte. Rick Staffords größter Erfolg.
Der heute 41-Jährige galt in Sachen Einsatz und Kampf auf dem Feld als Vorbild und spielte sich so schnell in die Herzen der Bamberger Fans. Jetzt steht der ehemalige Basketballprofi vor der größten Herausforderung seines Lebens: Sein Sohn Ricky ist an Leukämie erkrankt. Seit dem 24. Februar weiß die Familie über die Krankheit des 15-Jährigen Bescheid.
Ricky will Basketballprofi werden
Rick Stafford äußert sich entsprechend besorgt am Telefon. Rickys Zustand ändere sich wöchentlich, erzählt der 41-Jährige. Die letzten Wochen habe der Sohn sich oft übergeben müssen wegen der Chemotherapie. An manchen Tagen gehe es ihm aber wieder besser. Rick Stafford, der große Kämpfer, ihm sei oft zum Weinen zumute, sagt er.
Inzwischen lebt Stafford mit seiner Frau Maren und den acht Kindern wieder in den USA. Sein ältester Sohn Ricky will Basketballprofi werden wie sein Vater. Und der lobt seinen Nachwuchs: "Er hat mehr physisches Talent als sein Vater und er kann besser werfen als sein Vater."
An Basketball ist aber momentan nicht zu denken. Die Behandlung nimmt die ganze Kraft von Ricky in Anspruch. Die Diagnose lautet akute lymphatische Leukämie. Im Zuge der Diagnose wurde auch eine Philadelphia-Chromosom-Mutation festgestellt. Eine zusätzliche Belastung, die laut Rick Stafford die Überlebenschance deutlich senkt. Die Behandlung sei entsprechend aufwändig: "Wir wissen nicht, welche Kosten auf uns zukommen."
"Aktion Ricky" gestartet
Als Chris Ensminger, ehemaliger Kapitän der Brose Baskets und Teamkollege von Rick Stafford, davon gehört hatte, kontaktierte er Brose-Baskets-Manager Wolfgang Heyder und schlug ihm vor, etwas für Stafford zu tun. Heyder meinte: "Was tust Du, wenn ein Familienmitglied Deine Hilfe braucht? Du hilfst." Rick Stafford gehöre zur Bamberger Basketball-Familie. Also haben die Brose Baskets die "Aktion Ricky" ins Leben gerufen. Am Sonntag beim Spitzenspiel gegen Bayern München werden die ersten Spenden für den krebskranken Jungen gesammelt. Danach soll es weitere Aktionen geben.
Familie ist glücklich über Hilfe
Als Rick Stafford, der heute als stellvertretender Schulleiter in Utah arbeitet, davon hörte, nahm er das zunächst mit gemischten Gefühlen auf. Die Familie wollte eigentlich nicht in die Öffentlichkeit. "Im ersten Moment waren wir unsicher. Dann habe ich meiner Frau gesagt, wenn es unserem Sohn helfen kann, können wir nicht Nein sagen." Die Familie ist glücklich, dass die Hilfe angeboten wird. "Wir haben gemerkt, das stärkt einen, wenn man weiß, dass der Verein zu einem hält."
Vor allem, dass Unterstützung aus Bamberg kommt, freut ihn: "Ein Stück unserer Herzen ist auch in Bamberg", sagt Rick Stafford, der hier von 2002 bis 2008 als Spieler und im Trainerstab gewirkt hat. Drei seiner Kinder sind in der Domstadt geboren. Stafford besitzt auch die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft, da er eine deutsche Großmutter hat. Über zehn Jahre spielte Rick "The Quick" Stafford in Deutschland als Basketballprofi. Neben Bamberg war er für Langen, Hagen, Gießen und Ludwigsburg aktiv.
Das Aussehen seines Sohnes habe sich durch die Chemotherapie radikal geändert. Er sei durch Flüssigkeitseinlagerungen aufgedunsen, doch sei er anders als sein Vater, der oft traurig ist: "Der Junge kommt nach seiner Mutter, das Leben kann meine Frau nicht zurückhalten. Sie ist positiv gestimmt. Sie tanzt mit den Kindern in der Küche und Ricky macht mit", sagt Rick Stafford.
Rick Stafford has celebrated great victories with the Bamberg basketball players . He is still in the fans' of Brose Baskets memory as part of the legendary team that brought the German championship for the first time to Bamberg in 2005. Rick Stafford's greatest success.
The now 41 -year-old was known for his effort and fight on the basketball field and as such, played quickly into the hearts of Bamberg's fans. Now the former professional basketball player is facing the biggest challenge of his life : his son Ricky has leukemia . Since 24 February, the family knows about the disease of the 15 -year-olds.
Ricky wants to be a professional basketball player
Rick Stafford expresses himself accordingly worried on the phone. Ricky's physical state changes on a weekly basis, says the 41 - year-old. The last few weeks the son had to vomit often because of the chemotherapy. But, on some days he was doing better. Rick Stafford, the great fighter , has often felt like crying , he says.
Meanwhile, Stafford lives with his wife Maren and their eight children back in the U.S. . His eldest son, Ricky wants to be a professional basketball player like his father. Rick praises his son saying : " He has more physical talent than his father and he can shoot better than his father. "
Yet basketball is currently impossible. The treatment takes the full force of Ricky to complete. The diagnosis was acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In the course of diagnosis , a Philadelphia - chromosome mutation was detected. An additional burden which significantly reduces the chance of survival , according Rick Stafford. The treatment is elaborate and expensive : " We do not know what it will cost."
" Ricky action " started
When Chris Ensminger , former captain of the Brose Baskets and teammate Rick Stafford, had heard of it , he contacted Brose Baskets manager Wolfgang Heyder and suggested him to do something for Stafford. Heyder said: " What do you do when a family member needs your help? you help ". Rick Stafford belongs to the Bamberg basketball family. So the Brose Baskets have launched the "Action Ricky" into action. On Sunday at the top match against Bayern Munich, the first donations for the cancer-stricken boy are to be collected. After that there will be further action.
Family is happy about the help
When Rick Stafford, who now works as an assistant principal in Utah, heard of the action , he took the first on with mixed feelings. The family did not really want the publicity. " At first we were unsure . Then I told my wife , if it can help our son , we can not say no. " The family is happy that the help is offered . "We have noticed that we are strengthened, when you know that the club has our back. "
Especially that support the comes from Bamberg, : " A piece of our heart is also in Bamberg ," said Rick Stafford, who worked here from 2002 to 2008 as a player and the coaching staff . Three of his children were born in the cathedral city. Stafford also has German citizenship because he has a German grandmother . Over ten years Rick "The Quick" Stafford played basketball in Germany as a professional basketball player . In addition to Bamberg he was active for Langen , Hagen , Giessen and Ludwigsburg.
The appearance of his son has changed radically due to the chemotherapy . He is bloated by fluid retention , but he is different from his father, who is often sad : " The boy is like his mother , life can not hold back my wife. She is upbeat. She dances with the kids in the kitchen and Ricky dances along , "said Rick Stafford.
