Re-directing Your Course

So, I am sure the 7 of you that still check in on my blog came to find posts of New Year's resolutions, holiday happenings, or funny musings on the life o the Barlows. Sorry to say this post is probably neither, but I do have something to share.

I was a freshman at Chaparral High School in 1991 and my best friend Tiffany Davison and I had lockers a few rows apart from each other on the upper deck of the English/History Hall. It was a prime location (which we probably didn't fully appreciate at the time), but we could easily meet around there and pass notes between class and do a little upper classmen gawking as they walked by to their respective "older" Government or Composition classes. Many a male Cowboy we swooned over from our orange-fenced perch there. It's where I was first introduced to a tall red-head kid named John Abbott. Tiff had a crush on him for a second, but at that stage of soaking-it-all in, I was placing names with faces like crazy.

And that was pretty much the beginning of my introduction to the Abbott family. The Abbotts lived in our stake and as my world expanded in high school, I realized John Abbott had a really big family and wonderful parents. Garth Abbott, his dad, was gregarious and fun and loving and LOVED his family. Sister Abbott, was SO kind and jovial and loving and busy (again, big family!) Those are my impressions and remembrances of my interactions with the two of them. They were one of the couples of periphery influence on me. They were ALWAYS a good example to me. Later in high school, my senior year boyfriend was best friends with another Abbott boy, Jason, who was a good friend to me and my sister. Many a memory I have with Jason, and his good-natured, fun-loving self is also a testament to his parents' love and example, I think.

Over Christmas break, I got word that Garth was diagnosed with a really aggressive form of male breast cancer and the prognosis was bleak. The Abbott family's scope of influence has been wide and abundently good, and before long, their daughter-in-law (Rachelle, who interestingly enough, I got to know a little bit as our paths would cross as new Clark County English teachers and at the office of the OB/GYN while we were always pregnant at the same time together) began a fund-raising blog to help raise funds to start Garth on the much-needed chemotherapy that he needs.

See, (and this is the part, where, since it's my blog, I can speak freely) Garth Abbott has no health insurance. Because of that, they won't treat him. In THIS country??? Really? Well, yeah. [I'll leave it at that.] Rachelle speaks about this issue on her blog (as well as a really good description of Garth's situation) and it's summed up with he will not receive treatment until they can cash pay some of his expensive treatments. Since I can relate with the don't-really-have-that-kind-of-money-sitting-around predicament, I have been really touched at the outpouring of support and auction items up for bid (at last count I saw there was almost 100). This auction is short and it's really all about helping Garth and his family. And I can relate with that too. Who wouldn't want to help a brother, dad, son, husband, grandpa?

I have added a ScrapFest registration to the auction and hope that will be a small help. And I have made a bid on a Valentine's basket (because y'all know I'm not a good baker!), but there is a great need for a lot more traffic onto the blog. I'm hoping some of you who read this and can, will go pay a visit and find something that strikes your fancy. Then bid, or donate to the bank account. EVERY bit will help.

Here's your next stop on the internet: HELP SAVE GARTH ABBOTT!!!

Thanks peeps . . . this is what makes the internet such a blessing!