Monday, December 3, 2012

Oh What A Weekend-Luke Update-Kenny Loggins

 
     It was quite a weekend in our little town. On Saturday morning there was a big event in honor of our friend's son Luke. Luke, for those of you who don't know, is preparing for a bone marrow transplant after his leukemia came back several weeks ago. He is just in kindergarten and he is the bravest little boy I have ever met. Some of his mother's friends decided to organize a 5k run in his honor and raise money for both the family and for children's cancer research. I cannot tell you what a remarkable job they did with this project. The town turned out in mass to support this family. Businesses made donations of food, cash and supplies...kids from the local and neighboring schools showed up to volunteer or run...rivals in their own sports, all working for one cause. There was a children's run and each child got a balloon and they released them all at once. It brought me to tears.

 
Luke, his brother and his mom

     Our local fire department has made Luke and honorary fireman. His picture hangs on the wall with the other firemen. Fire departments from around Illinois and Missouri have sent him hats from their departments...well over 150 different hats. It was only fitting that Luke arrived on the fire engine to cheers from the crowd. It was even more moving to see the firemen, complete in fire gear, walking at the end of the racers on the 5k. Santa was also on the fire truck and a generous sponsor arranged for Fredbird (the St. Louis Cardinal's mascot) to be in attendance all morning. Luke is a big fan and when he is in the hospital in St. Louis, some of the players have come to visit him.

 
     In this time in our world where there is so much sadness, political bickering and hate...this was a town filled with only love on Saturday morning. Some of the runners came from other towns and didn't even know the family, but they wanted to help. The Champaign-Urbana news station sent someone to do a feature about Luke and it was also handled with such love and care. Today, Luke is in St. Louis having tests to see if his numbers are high enough to have the very strong chemo dose he is supposed to get this week to prepare for the transplant. If all goes well, he will be having the transplant in early January. Please continue to pray for this wonderful family and this special little boy. There is a long road ahead for them, but they certainly are not walking it alone.
 
     On a much less serious note, we were very fortunate to see Kenny Loggins in concert at our local Performance Center on Friday night. I grew up listening to Loggins and Messina, and have enjoyed Kenny since he has been a solo act. He was so good. At 64, his voice sounds exactly as it did when he was younger...maybe even better. He had people dancing in the aisles when he sang "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack and I was certainly out of my seat and moving to "Footloose". His Christmas song, "On Christmas Morning" gave me goosebumps. He did 3 encores and I would go see him again in a heartbeat. My only complaint is that my voice is still not back and I couldn't sing along. Click on the links above for a little bit of Kenny!



9 comments:

Barbara F. said...

There are so many good and kind people in this world. I wish the very best for Luke and his family on their journey. Glad you enjoyed the concert and hope you are feeling better. xo

dee dee said...

I LOVE stories like this... thanks for spreading the cheer!
dee dee

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Wonderful to hear there was such a big gathering/support for little Luke.
Hope you are feeling better. Glad you enjoyed the concert - even if you could not sing along. :D

The Quintessential Magpie said...

What a wonderful post, Sue! I am so happy that people honored young Luke this way. Wonderful news. And that is great news you got to see Kenny Loggins. He was always a favorite of mine, too!

I have some neat news from a friend in England. Check out my last post (the first one in months, LOL) about it. I think it will make you smile. It sure made me smile.

XO,

Sheila

Red Couch Recipes said...

Good wishes to Luke and his family! What a great event! I know I would have been in tears. I used to listen to Kenny Logan's tape of children's songs when I was a new mother. His voice can be very soothing. Joni

Traci said...

What a wonderful event!

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Hi Suz,
What a delightfully wonderful true story........love hearing that, as it is a true gift of God...a miracle of sorts when everyone comes together in love like that.
Have to say Luke looks good, so sorry he is having to go thru all this tho,
but he looks like a trooper, he certainly is a brave boy. Will sure
be praying that bone marrow transplant put this cancer to bed forever..........
His Mom is pretty and looks very
happy in spite of all she is going thru........bless her sweet heart.
Did I tell you that right after you reported on Luke we found out a lil
boy in our church has cancer as well. Fortunately, it is stage 2.
He is about 10 I think but he has
lymphoma and his name is Andrew.
So if you think of him and his family please pray for them, so far, things are going pretty well,
but as you know this is hard territory and they are a real sweet christian family too.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story........we can use all those kind of stories there are! lol

Knew who Kenny Loggins is but couldn't remember any of his songs,
the Alright song till I listened,
knew Footloose. That was a fun listen...............blast from the past! So glad you got to enjoy that. So are you feeling much better?? Sure hope so............
Looks like it cause your decorations are sure pretty.
Blessings, Nellie

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Hi Suz,
What a delightfully wonderful true story........love hearing that, as it is a true gift of God...a miracle of sorts when everyone comes together in love like that.
Have to say Luke looks good, so sorry he is having to go thru all this tho,
but he looks like a trooper, he certainly is a brave boy. Will sure
be praying that bone marrow transplant put this cancer to bed forever..........
His Mom is pretty and looks very
happy in spite of all she is going thru........bless her sweet heart.
Did I tell you that right after you reported on Luke we found out a lil
boy in our church has cancer as well. Fortunately, it is stage 2.
He is about 10 I think but he has
lymphoma and his name is Andrew.
So if you think of him and his family please pray for them, so far, things are going pretty well,
but as you know this is hard territory and they are a real sweet christian family too.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story........we can use all those kind of stories there are! lol

Knew who Kenny Loggins is but couldn't remember any of his songs,
the Alright song till I listened,
knew Footloose. That was a fun listen...............blast from the past! So glad you got to enjoy that. So are you feeling much better?? Sure hope so............
Looks like it cause your decorations are sure pretty.
Blessings, Nellie

Gypsy Heart said...

Precious little boy and such an incredible exhibit of love and support for him!

I'm glad you were able to attend the concert ~ Kenny's always great.

xo
Pat