Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Christmas Miracle

In the midst of one family's tragedy this Holiday Season, I witnessed their Christmas Miracle this morning.

Michael Blackketter, 9, of West Richland, WA passed away on Monday after a long and brave battle with cancer. He was a hockey and baseball fan and when they thought he was finally in remisson, his Make-a-Wish that was granted in September was a trip to Disney World, where he spent hours in the swimming pool. When he started feeling sick again, the doctors discovered that the cancer had come back and had taken over his brain, liver, pancreas and bones.

One of the hardest things I've had to do in my career so far was to help a mother pick out a casket for her son who had not yet reached his tenth birthday.

I was standing outside with one of the owners of our small corporation, discussing what kind of signage he was thinking about putting up in front of my building when an older woman pulled into the parking lot. "Can I help you?" I asked with a laugh, opening the door, "Well, besides getting you inside from the cold?"
With a sweet smile, she said, "I Certainly hope so."

She went on to ask if I was handling the case for little Matthew. I told her that one of our other locations was actually handling the case, but asked her if I could help her with anything. She then said the most heartwarming thing I've ever heard, "I'd like to anonymously pay for his funeral expenses."

I called the other location, got the total for the funeral, and when she saw how "small" the amount was, she asked if I could get the cemetery expenses for her as well. I handed them to her on the back of a business card and she returned a short time later with a cashier's check for the full amount, plus $500.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a warmed heart.

2 comments:

Kirsten said...

That's awesome.

Tracy said...

One warmed heart... check!

Everyone has to stop with these touching stories, it makes me cry - I'm a basket case.