Checking in - Drew's 26th Birthday

Drew's 26 birthday was again the inspiration for our family blood drive.

As you know, the number one use of blood products is cancer treatment. To stop cancer from spreading, you need to clean out the body's plumbing so cancer cells can't travel around. Chemo and radiation take their toll on the blood, and Drew had lots of chemo and radiation.

We have probably exceeded our goal of replacing the many dozens of pints of blood products Drew used, but the need has never been greater in our community.

So we held our third blood drive on Drew's day, this year at the Harris Y. The day is a bit of therapy and a bit of giving back and a lot of great visiting again with Team Llewellyn. And Team Llewellyn came through with a VERY successful day.

Statistics:

- Eighty folks came by - wow

- Eight of them were born since June of 2006 (too young to give, but they enjoyed the cookies).

- We added 34 pints of blood and three pints of platelets to the Charlotte blood supply this day. A half dozen others will return when their cold medicine wears off or they eat a little more spinach (low iron). A few were turned away for crowd control - we had so many donors at one time we overheated the air conditioner motor at the Y (sorry).

- We reached folks via email, phone, Facebook, blogs, and people just remembering it was February 13th.

- We also had donors in Melbourne, Seattle, Raleigh, Washington DC, and maybe other cities to give on Drew's day to their local agencies, and the donors in Richmond will enjoy cupcakes from recent honeymooners to Mexico who have to wait a while to donate.

- Twenty of the eighty were related to us in some way...two cousins drove three hours to join us.

- One out-of-town friend sent his sister and another sent her brother.

- We had several first time donors (the youngest 16 and the oldest 50 something)

- Several folks we didn't know saw the drive going and stopped by - we made a few new friends.

- Four folks played soccer with Drew, four others coached him.

Thanks again to so many who came. Whether they could give blood or not, it was great to see everyone, to hear from the many folks who could not come, and to inspire us to keep the spirit alive.

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Since we last posted, we have watched three grandkids grow and develop - the boys are big talkers and Llandis is adding a few words to her wobbly walking skills. Their smiles and bright eyes bring us constant joy. Drew moments still put tears in our eyes frequently, but the occasional visits or notes from his friends are truly cherished, and we got them from several of his friends recently. "Team Llewellyn Game On" wristbands (only 500 in the world) are not as common as Lance Armstrong's yellow "Livestrong" ones (70 million), but the following stories are true:

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A girl walks into a bar in Rejkjavik, Iceland. She has a blue "Team Llewellyn Game On" wristband. A guy walks up and says, "I couldn't help but notice your wristband" and shows him his identical one... Drew's cousin and a college friend meet for the first time.

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A few months later: A girl walks into a bar in Queenstown, New Zealand. She has a blue Team Llewellyn Game On bracelet. A guy walks up and says, "I couldn't help but notice your wristband" and shows his identical one....another of Drew's relatives and a Charlotte high school friend.

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A small world? Incredible odds? Or Team Llewellyn members are an interesting bunch? Yes, you are an interesting bunch. Thanks for hanging with us.