The Adventurous Life of Maggie Shae!: February 2013

Friday, February 1, 2013

Grandpa's Gift Golf Tournament & Camping Weekend of Fun!

Hey, hey everybody. What do you say? Come to Camp Dearborn to celebrate and play!

My Grandpa's BFF, Lari, has planned this super cool celebration at my Mama's childhood summer stomping ground Camp Dearborn for this May (my Grandpa Tom's birthday is May 21st).
It is going to be so fun and I can't wait! My Mama has told me all about the fun she used to have there, and how her and her friends and family looked forward to this magical week each June. She even used to celebrate her birthdays there!
My Grandpa got the nickname "Ranger" Tom because he was just like a forest ranger while they were at this very special place called Camp D. Oh yeah, he made campfires, predicted the weather, and even fished tent keys that accidentally fell into Port-a-Johns (ew). Oh, and she has many, many more stories about all the fun that was had at this special place.
It has been quite a while since they've all been there, but from what I hear they ruled the roost back in the heyday! You know, long before iPods, facebook, heck, even cellphones were around...
Back when going to the Cantine for now-and-laters and playing in a giant robot were daily occurrences, and spending time with friends making your own fun was how we spent our days.
My Mama says that "The F-Row Boys" left women fainting at the annual talent show and even beat the Camp D workers in an exciting softball blow-out. They are legends in their own time...
Wow! It sounds like a lot of fun to me.
I mean, you have to know that our friends and family are going to do it up just right!
Weather you went to Camp D or not, come out and celebrate one of Ranger Tom's favorite family vacations, where you were (and will be) having a blast surrounded by the ones you love!
Come for the day or stay for a night or two. Either way we'll be celebrating, raising money for a great cause and, most of all, having a great time like the 'old days'.

First Annual Grandpa's Gift Golf Tournament and Camp Dearborn Family Weekend

Benefiting the OI (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) Foundation

Hello!

You are cordially (and very enthusiastically) invited to a family-oriented, fun-filled weekend at Camp Dearborn (in Milford, Michigan), and the 1st Annual Grandpa's Gift Golf Tournament.

To be held in memory and in celebration of Grandpa “Ranger” Tom.

Where:

Camp Dearborn Tent Village and Mystic Creek Golf Course

When:

Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-27^th, 2013

Come celebrate and relax with fellow campers beside the fire, while slinging horseshoes, playing euchre, and just hanging out reminiscing at the beach or poolside. We’ll be catching up and creating lots of fun new memories.

Never been to Camp Dearborn? Well, this is your chance at a camping experience unlike any other! (click on the links above to see what it’s like!)

Specifics: You can come for the day, stay for a night or the entire 3-day weekend. There will be 50/50 tournaments and festivities galore throughout the weekend: horseshoe, euchre, kickball, arts and crafts and sing-a-longs for the kids, barbequing and much, much more.

All of this culminating on Sunday with The First Annual Grandpa’s Gift 9 hole golf tournament to benefit The OI Foundation (http://www.oif.org), a cause very near to Tom’s large heart.

Tent Rental: tent cost is $35/night or $105 for the whole weekend. Cabins are available and those sleep 6 and cost

Tents sleep 6 (2 bunk beds and 2 cots) and are plenty spacious for a family. Each tent has an outdoor closable kitchenette and a covered picnic table. No sleeping on the ground or critters here! We camp in style!

Golf Tournament: To be held on Sunday, May 26^th. Entrance fee to golf is $50 per person. For those who want to come out and show their support (but aren’t sure about their golf skills) there will also be a silent auction, treats, refreshments and great company!

Please follow this link to learn more and sign up for any activities that sound fun!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050E49ADAC2CA31-grampas

So come out and celebrate with all of us!

The price is right for the great time we’ll be having, support for a great cause and remembering the man who kept us all smiling.

As always, Ranger predicts the weather to be perfect and good times to be had by all.

We hope to see you there!!

http://www.campdearborn.com

www.oif.org

www.hoorayformaggieshae.blogspot.com - to learn more about our OI story

For questions, to reserve your tent or find out more, please contact us at

Grampasgift@comcast.net

Oh yeah, here's The F-Row Gang (some of them at least!)

circa 1985?

Adventures in Blogging...

At 6 weeks old, after a very low-risk pregnancy, our first-born child was diagnosed (very unexpectedly) with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), or Brittle Bone Disease. OI is a rare disease with no current cure.

Understanding OI can be confusing. It is not black and white. Each case of OI is unique and each patient is affected differently. Although each person affected has one thing in common: weak bones that can often break easily - one person can have hundreds of breaks in a lifetime, while another only suffers a few.

There are still many questions to be answered about OI.

This disease is unlike any other and we, along with the medical community, are learning more and more about it everyday.

What we know for sure is that many people are confused by it, including many doctors and medical professionals. Through no fault of their own, many do not study it thoroughly (if at all) in medical school. We've had to explain it several times to medical professionals we've encountered at hospitals, including ER staff at well-known Children's hospitals. Many times we hear from these professionals, "oh, yes, I've heard of that," but many have never seen or treated a patient with it. This can be scary since even just handling a child with OI can cause breaks. These are the very significant issues with OI: awareness, education, training of medical staff and research.

We originally started this blog to communicate Maggie's daily progress and doctors visits more effectively with all of our family and friends. Most of the time we put a fun spin on it by having it written in her voice. We also wanted to help others who may be confused and going through this same initial shock, as we were. We searched for others like us and for any information we could find. Sadly, a lot of it was even more confusing and scary. Lastly, we wanted to give Maggie 'a voice' before she even had one.

However, now that we've been living with the effects of OI we've come to realize that raising awareness about this rare and underfunded disease is what really matters most. By spreading awareness, as is the case with many other "popular" diseases, the general public and medical community can become more aware of how to effectively treat patients, and, most importantly, development for much needed new treatments and a cure can be funded.

Our lives have been forever changed from what we thought our expectations of it were. We've had to rearrange our lives and our daily activities because something as simple as getting bumped into at a splash park can result in a traumatic public display and a visit to the ER with a compression fracture of the spine. Sadly, these events are not uncommon for most families living with OI.

But we are on a new path now and determined to always make the best of the situation. Knowing silly, sweet, smart, sassy, strong Maggie, anyone can understand this. We feel fortunate that Maggie's case has been labeled 'mild'.

It wouldn't be right to say all of this without acknowledging all of our caring family members, friends, medical professionals and perfect strangers who have come into our lives and shown us love, understanding and support each and every day.

We hope that others can find humor and solace in the everyday adventures that our little family stumbles through, find hope in our journey and, ultimately, spread awareness about Osteogenesis Imperfecta along the way. Thanks for helping us achieve this goal!

To find out more please visit: www.oif.org

Friday, February 1, 2013

Grandpa's Gift Golf Tournament & Camping Weekend of Fun!

Popular Posts