Save Baby Gavin

Friday, February 23, 2007 is Gavin Ryne Winslow’s first birthday! This is another HUGE milestone for this amazing baby.

Help us celebrate and give thanks for our special miracle by sending all of your family and friends to Gavin’s guestbook to write a special birthday message to Gavy and his family.

Thank you to everyone who has helped Gavin in some way. Whether it be attending or organizing one of his fundraisers, telling a friend or family member about his website, talking about him on TV and radio, giving a donation, or sending a prayer above for his well being, you have made our family so grateful by being so kind to Gavy. Thank you for continuing to walk with him as he continues his journey.

Something truly remarkable happened after Samantha Christianasen’s and Sarah Kirschling’s months of busy hands and tireless feet prepared the Jim Gill Children’s Concert and Silent Auction fund raising events for sweet baby Gavin. An awe-inspiring $4001 enriched our precious little baby’s campaign. THEN – Mr. Gill decided that he wanted to donate 100% of his concert, book and CD sales, bringing baby Gavin’s new fund raising total for this musical extravaganza to $4,286.00. Thank you dearly Samantha, Sarah and Jim for your terrific love for sweet baby Gavin – like a warm coat in winter it keeps him snug as a bug in a rug.

Pavarotti noted, “music takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence, and whereto”. So too did the following generous Donators “startle our wonder” with their kind-hearted generosity:

Silent auction thank you’s go to:

• Sheraton Hotel – Weekend Getaway
• The Little Gym – Awesome Birthday Bash
• Gymboree Play & Music – One Month of Class
• Pump It Up – Birthday Party
• A&A Photography – In-Home Photo Session
• M&M Gymnastics – Birthday Party
• Sunset Bowl – Party Package
• Celebrations Party Rental – Moonwalk/Jumper Rental
• Children’s Orchard – Melissa & Doug Adjustable Art Easel
• Lady Fingers & Feet – Manicure and Pedicure
• Kathie Krohn – Mary Kay Gift Baskets

Concert thank you’s go to:

• Jim Gill
• Sheraton Brookfield Hotel
• A&A Photography
• Yogi – Balloon Artist
• Jeff Campbell – Magician
• Sparkle – clownfromtheheart@yahoo.com
• Melody
• Knick Knack – dbaldry@wi.rr.com
• Peppi – pattipep@tds.net
• Z3 Graphics (ticket and poster printing)
• The Secret Attic (Elmo costume)
• Nick Schwalbach (as Elmo)
• Let’s Celebrate (balloon donation)

On behalf of sweet baby Gavin, our tender thanks to each of you! We remain sincerely grateful!

Another big thank you to the team at WKTI for helping us promote Gavin’s fundraisers on their radio morning program. Our very own Glenda Herro called into the show on January 24th and spoke with Gene Mueller, Amy Taylor, and Gino Salomone about Gavin and the upcoming “Bowlin’ for Gavin” Bowlathon on Sunday, January 28th from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. at Classic Lanes in Greenfield.

To view Gene Mueller’s post about “Bowlin’ for Gavin” on their website, click here.

Thank you for making Gavin a friend of your show, because you have been a true friend to Gavin!

Once again we are grateful to have been offered the opportunity to participate in the Care to Share Community Day fundraiser of Saturday, March 3rd, hosted by Bon-Ton and Elder-Beerman. Learn more about this event at www.communitydayevent.com.

Here’s how it works:

• We have coupon booklets for you to sell at $5 each.
• Each booklet contains $10 coupon good on almost any merchandise item of $10 or more (customers spend $5 for the booklet and get $10 back on their first purchase!), eight coupons for up to 20% off, and offers for three great bonus items, available on Care to Share Community Day only, which is Saturday, March 3rd.
• 100% of the $5 coupon booklet price is ours to keep for baby Gavin.

The coupons are good at these participating stores at any of their locations:

• Bon-Ton
• Bergners
• Boston Store
• Carson Pirie Scott
• Elder-Beerman
• Herbergers
• Yonkers

If anyone is interested in selling these booklets please contact Jane Schwalbach at 262-549-6129 or email her at: janeschwalbach@yahoo.com.

We especially would like to thank Ms. Linda German, a cherished new friend of baby Gavin’s for this opportunity. You are absolutely right Linda, “together we can make a difference;” we feel privileged to have received your special invitation.

Just a reminder, our “Bowlin’ For Gavin” bowl-a-thon is this Sunday, January 28th at Classic Lanes Bowling Alley located at 5404 W. Layton Avenue in Greenfield. Please join us and make this a successful event on Gavin’s behalf. There will be a donation box at our “Bowlin’ for Gavin” check-in table for those who wish to contribute cash or checks to Gavin’s fund. All checks should be made out to COTA with “Donation In Honor Of Gavin Winslow” in the memo of the check.

At my friends Rachel and KJ’s wedding, their priest talked about children (don’t ask me what they said at mine, I was trying not to trip), and he said that your children are a mixture of all the good things about each of you. Kind of like a little perfect recipe where you get to shake in all the things that you love about each other. I look at Lauren and Gavin and I see perfection. I see these two little intelligent minds with laughter and energy, and just the right amount of sass. It makes me want to laugh more, take chances, become smarter…just be better. On the mom-o-meter, I got an “ok” ranking today. Lauren has taken to grading my daily performance as a mother (brutally honest). I have learned, however, that there is a significant grading curve on days where chips, fruit snacks and play dates are concerned, so I try to throw these in when I have less than stellar moments. I think that I am trying to challenge myself to actually live a little freer, to allow myself to be less than perfect, laugh without inhibition, say what I mean, and be a little kinder than necessary — because those are the things that I want my babies to be.

Gavin is now saying “da-da-da”. It’s his first multi-syllable word, so that is HUGE and very exciting. Now I know for sure that God is a man, because all babies seem to say “dada” first. This is despite the fact that we are the ones lugging them around in our bellies for nine months (which I am still somewhat convinced that it is actually ten months: 40 wks, 4 weeks in a month, but whatever). He is still eating despite his nighttime supplements, so that is nice. I think that he would sit in his high chair all day and eat if we let him. He tried an oreo blizzard today and LOVED it. Cookie smeared all over his face, it was adorable!—(of course, right?) He’s trying to figure out how to transition from a sitting up position down to his tummy, then hanging out and playing on his tummy! And the kid is always talking business, apparently he has a lot of opinions as well, and is ready for us to hear all of them (:

Lauren is recovering from all the fundraisers this weekend. She went to the Fireman’s dinner with Jay and the Jim Gill concert with me and had a BLAST! I think she may have run a mini toddler marathon between the two, and is a little tired from both. They were both wonderful!

Throughout all of this, we have seen such kindness; such support that simply saying “Thank you” just doesn’t seem enough. But until I can think of something better, it will have to do. Thank you to our families, friends, and strangers who have come to help, love, and support us!

I have to get to bed, but I will leave you with Lauren’s cell phone conversation today:

Lauren: “uh huh uh huh uh huh” (pause) “Okay.”
Me: “Lauren, who are you talking to?”
Lauren: (covers phone receiver with her hand) “Excuse me.” (slightly annoyed look at me) “I am on the phone with Rosie the horse in unicornland.”
(Lauren gets back into make believe phone conversation)
Lauren: “Please tell her not to eat all the carrots because I would like some, and to look out for shooting stars”. (Click)
Me: “Did Rosie say that was okay?”
Lauren: “She wasn’t there, so I left her a voicemail.”

Jill

Here are some new photos of Gavin and his family from Christmas, 2006 to January, 2007. His first birthday (February 23) is right around the corner!

If you viewing this message in email and cannot view the pictures, please click here.

“When you are going through hell…keep on going”, I believe it was Churchill who said that, and we made it. It was when I was grocery shopping, trying to figure out which was hotter the mild or medium salsa, when I realized that it’s all what you make of it. This of course was when I realized I was upset at the label makers of a salsa company (talk about sweating the small stuff, but seriously, what was wrong with mild and hot—it made it easier—what is medium all about?), but it all gives you perspective. We are still in a battle for a different home dialysis machine, but as Jay reminds me “control the controllables” (we can see who is the level headed one is here…me???).

Gavin seems to be doing so much better with the added nutrition at night. So much so, that it makes the night time easier and the added food means he’s not waking up. So we are getting a full night’s sleep, except when his dialysis machine alarms. Somebody should really tell you that after you have kids you’ll never sleep through the night ever again, it should be in like a pregnancy pamphlet.

I’ve gotten much better with the feeding tube and have learned some tricks to try to keep it in longer. He is also teetering on 16 lbs (15 lbs 14 oz)!!!!!! You look at him and you figure he’s got to be like twenty pounds with those cheeks and that belly, but not quite yet. Soon we will be at 22 pounds, and then there is no stopping us. We most definitely will be celebrating when that happens! I can’t believe in just shy of a week, he’s gained so much weight. I am so enthused by that!

He also seems to be moving so much more, even he is impressed by himself and has taken to clapping for himself once he accomplishes a new feat! He’s all about “Roly Poly” and bubbles and has so many more opinions now, mostly, “let me at ‘em”. He seems so much more age appropriate, no longer an infant but a little boy. I can’t believe he is almost one!

Lauren has learned the words “suction” and “flabbergasted” and I love making her use them. It’s so funny to hear them come out of her mouth. She has also learned how to spell her name in “sing song” so it’s pretty cute. We are starting to try to teach “the Gavinator” (as she likes to call him now) how to sign.

I signed Lulu up for four year old kindergarten this week for the upcoming school year…I can’t believe that she is going to go to school. Now I know why you see all the moms peering through windows trying to get a glimpse of their babies. She is such a proud big sister that she insists that we write her name and then also add “Big Sissy”. They both helped me make some Valentine cupcakes this week, and Gav loves the beater just like his sissy!

Hope this finds you all well! Something about pink, red and hearts that has to bring a smile to your face!

Jill

”’When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,’ said Piglet at last, ‘what’s the first thing you say to yourself?’ ‘What’s for breakfast?’ said Pooh. ‘What do you say, Piglet?’ ‘I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?’ said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. ‘It’s the same thing,’ he said.”
A. A. Milne, ‘The House at Pooh Corner’

The smell of coffee mingled with the flavor of eggs, sausages, ham, hash browns, pancakes, and hobnobbed with a sundry of sweet rolls, orange juice, milk, and pitchers of ice water at the Chilton Eagle’s Club last Sunday, January 14th, as the Chilton Council (Calumet 2556) Knights of Columbus put on their Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser for sweet baby Gavin. Over three hundred wonderfully kind neighbors turned out to support our darling baby.

Thank you all so very much for participating in the task of saving the day and the night for sweet baby Gavin. Your warmth was overwhelming!

For over two centuries the penny’s design has symbolized the spirit of the nation, but never more nobly than at the Lake Mills Middle School. After completing their penny push fundraiser, from January 8th – January 17th, Art Instructor Judy Schwecke, along with her fifteen, 8th grade advisory students have turned thousands of idle pennies into real dollars and happily contributed their gift of $655.10 to baby Gavin’s campaign.

Our appreciation for all of your kindness and enthusiasm is boundless. Your spirit of generosity inspires, truly, for as Margaret Thatcher so eloquently stated, “Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth.”

Thank you, each of you, for bringing change to the world of sweet baby Gavin. Thank you for your humanity. Your hearts are all quite special and we remain endlessly grateful.

A sleepless night. Two days ago Gavin pulled out his feeding tube in the middle of the night so we were in the emergency room, (at 3 a.m. on country roads in the middle of the snow, ugh!) making sure he didn’t aspirate on it. He was fine— thank God, but now it has opened up a whole new fear of supplementing him at night. I am so exhausted that I am dizzy, yet I can’t sleep through all the alarms and added stress from all these changes and the fear of him drowning. Putting an ng tube in your own son is very scary and the cries don’t leave you, they just echo in your ears. It took me three times and with each attempt I hated my ineptness at being such a novice.

Lauren told me tonight that she didn’t want Gavin to be sick anymore. It was really hard since most of the time she doesn’t see him as “sick”, just her regular ol’ brother. With all the changes she knows that something isn’t right because now we are outside of what used to be the “norm” to her, plus a little insane and highly stressed. This disease makes me so mad at times. It’s like this abstract thing without a face that just keeps knocking you down and there is nobody that you can yell at or be mad at, it just is, and it doesn’t stop — you can’t fight it — just counter it and it never goes away. I can’t wait for transplant.

Madison feels like in not intervening sooner with the feeding tube that we are set back another six months from transplant, putting us not to transplant until this time next year. Although I will do this as long as we need to, the thought of Gavin being sick for another year and of all this is just so overwhelming — it was like a sucker punch to the face.

At this point I want to put out a shameless plug for all of you to become donors. There are 94,000 people waiting for transplant and only a little over 20,000 people get transplanted every year. These people on the list, they are someone’s mom, dad, child, brother, sister, wives and husbands. To learn more about becoming a donor go to wisdonornetwork.com or call the Wisconsin Donor Network at 414-805-2024. There are a lot of myths about being a donor and if you have any questions or fears they can answer them for you. Within the next six months they will begin testing me to make sure that I am a match for Gavin (we know that I am a blood match but Jay isn’t). I can’t wait, I’ve never wanted to lose an organ so bad.

Well I am going to try to get some sleep. We wanted to go to the Jim Gill concert this week, but I don’t think that Gavs will make it, there are a lot of funky winter cold things going around and that makes it really hard for Gavin to breathe against the fluid, but maybe Lauren will, she would LOVE it. We are still trying to find the fine line of living a life on dialysis with an immune compromised son! Hope this finds you all in better spirits than I, as they say this too shall pass!

Jill

A big thank you to the team at WKTI for helping us promote Gavin’s upcoming fundraisers on their morning program. Our very own Samantha Christianasen called into the show on January 10th and spoke with Gene Mueller, Amy Taylor, and Gino Salomone about Gavin and the upcoming Jim Gill children’s concert on behalf of Gavin.

To view Gene Mueller’s post about Gavin on their website, click here.

We won the trifecta… if only it wasn’t for sinus infections. Lauren (who apparently has “crocodiles in her throat and butterflies in her ears” was her pediatrician’s official diagnosis, which she loved), Gavs, and I are all on some antibiotics to finally shake this forever cold. No wonder why it lingered for eternity (Jay gets to take care of us, poor guy).

We’ve had a lot of big changes so Jay and I have taken a mental sanity break (meaning we are a touch insane at the moment, because who wants to stay sane for too long). We have switched Gavin’s nephrologists (fancy word for kidney docs) and we are on a new machine which Jay and I despise. We look at his old machine with such affection. I wouldn’t be surprised if I would wake up one night and see the machine sleeping next to us in the bed (next to Lauren of course who always manages to tip toe in at some point in the night). We miss it so and it has only been two days. I am trying to get this new hospital to come around, so there is still hope. We will figure it out some way. I could get into the whole argument, but really it’s just too frustrating. I miss our old staff, you develop some unhealthy attachments to his doctors and nurses…so it has been a big change, a hard change, but a good change we believe.

Anyway, onto more important things…Gavin has a new accessory, his feeding tube. The down side is, well there are a lot especially because you can’t see all of his sweet little face, but the upside is that he doesn’t have to taste that yucky medicine so much throughout the day, and he doesn’t seem to mind it too much. I get to play doctor with the stethoscope to make sure the tube is in right three times a day, so he doesn’t drown by having food go into his lungs instead of his stomach—so that is pretty terrifying. Since he gets his supplemental feeds at night, it’s making sleep a little tougher. We have come full circle on his nutrition, so we will see if we start getting some weight gain. Although I wish he didn’t have to go through this, the feeding tube is a beautiful thing since it will get us to transplant hopefully sooner! He has totally fallen off the growth chart so it was time to intervene on his behalf. It’s a sad reminder of his illness. It’s so easy to imagine all this stuff away when you look at him…it just seems like he is so healthy, it’s such a mind game! Even Gray’s Anatomy hasn’t made me feel better this week, which usually cures all things bad in this world. McDreamy should be a nephrologist in Wisconsin.

Gavin is so active now, all squirmy wormy all over the place. He wants to be in it to win it and follows his sister like a hawk. Lauren on the other hand is following me like a hawk, so I try to keep my insane moments to a minimum around her because she just picks up on everything. Today I was ready to, well you don’t want to know what I really wanted to do to the blood pressure machine, and Lauren was telling her Grams about that naughty blood pressure machine later that night. Three year olds see and tell everything, it’s always interesting to hear what comes out of her mouth. Gavin, too, is very interested in all things that make noise. So it’s fun to watch his reactions now. You can so tell he is past the baby stage, and is into the toddler mind set. I can’t believe that he is going to be a year old soon. How we have been blessed, so many great things to come ahead as well!

Hope this finds you all well! Big Hugs and keep having fun! Once I find the camera I’ll post a picture of Gavs new accessory, but it’s MIA so here are some Christmas shots that got downloaded prior to its getting misplaced!

Jill

Kurt Lakatos, the owner of Krav Maga-Milwaukee, organized and conducted two seminars on Saturday, January 6th with all proceeds going to Gavin. Kurt, together with the other instructors, John Urbanek (Krav Maga-Milwaukee) and Ryan Atkins (Crossfit Racine), raised $1,100 for Gavin. Thank you to everyone involved for making this event informative, fun, and successful.

A special thank you to Erik Richardson for donating his time and talents to create the flyer for this event.

Kurt also has a cannister for Gavin at his studio with students donating money on Gavin’s behalf. Thank you to all of the students at Krav Maga who have donated to Gavin’s cannister campaign, and a special thank you to Chuck Forsyth for donating $100.

Thank you, Kurt, for being so supportive of Gavin and his cause. We are so lucky to have you as part of our team.

A big thank you to freelance writer Melissa Rigney Baxter and to the Waukesha Freeman for writing and publishing this beautiful article on Gavin. The article focuses on Gavin’s fight for life, the financial burden of his upcoming transplant, and the upcoming Jim Gill concert and fundraising efforts for Gavin.

To read the article, click here.

Gavin is now officially part of the Pick ‘n Save WE CARE program.

This is how the WE CARE program works. Every time you shop at any Pick ‘n Save store in Wisconsin and use your Advantage Plus Savers Card at a register (this does not include service desk purchases), Gavin’s fund will receive a cash rebate which is distributed every three months. The cash rebate amount will be a percentage of the total amount of WE CARE dollars that Pick ‘n Save has contributed. The more you use your Advantage Plus Savers Card, the larger percentage of total WE CARE contribution Gavin’s fund will receive.

Here are the steps to take advantage of this program and help Gavin:

• Visit any Wisconsin Pick ‘n Save.
• Apply at the service desk for an Advantage Plus Savers Card.
• If you own an Advantage Plus Savers Card, you can assign/reassign the charity organization for the WE CARE program at the service desk.
• Assign charity organization #129110 (COTA Children’s Organ Transplant Association - Gavin Winslow) to your Advantage Plus Savers Card for the WE CARE program.

Please consider taking just a few minutes to apply for a Pick ‘n Save Advantage Plus Savers Card and assign Gavin’s fund as your WE CARE charity. If you are the current owner of a Pick ‘n Save Advantage Plus Savers Card, please consider reassigning from your current charity to Gavin’s fund for the WE CARE program. Just a few minutes of your time could mean all the difference in saving Gavin’s life.

Please tell your friends and family about the wonderful children’s concert on Gavin’s behalf that will take place on Sunday, January 21st. We need your help making this a successful event.

A Concert of Music and Play with Jim Gill
Sunday, January 21, 2007
3:30 pm (doors open at 3:15 pm)
Sheraton Brookfield Hotel in the Brookfield Ball Room
Advance Tickets $10 each, $12 each at the door (under 1 year free)

To purchase tickets by mail, please call Samantha at 262-548-0614

To purchase tickets online using a credit card, please click the ADD TO CART button below. Once you have ordered, please print your PayPal confirmation e-mail and bring it to the concert to verify your ticket purchase.

To listen to Jim’s latest CD, please click here

Once upon a time, two very pretty and special young sisters, 8-year-old Katherine and 10-year-old Jacqueline Vo, like in a fairy-tale, found a way to spin straw into gold for sweet baby Gavin. Both girls filled coffee mugs with candy and then requested donations for them around the Twin Cities. Together they raised over $600 for baby Gavin’s campaign.

Thank you so very much Katherine and Jacqueline, we are deeply grateful. May you enjoy many “happily ever afters.”

Greenfield, WI – A fun, family-friendly event and great way to get friends together will be held to raise funds in honor of Gavin Winslow, who is in need of multiple kidney transplants.

“Bowlin’ for Gavin” will take place on Sunday, January 28, 2007 from l:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Classic Lanes Bowling Alley at 5404 W. Layton Avenue, Greenfield, WI. Cost to participate is $10 for adults and $5 for children under ten, which includes three games of bowling and shoe rental. Tickets may be purchased at the check-in table at the door on the day of the event. Bumper bowling will also be available for the children, and silent auction items will be on display for bid from a variety of vendors. Pizza and beverages will also be available to purchase.

To view the entire press release, please click here.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file, please download the latest version here.

The Lake Mills Fire Department is hosting a spaghetti dinner. The dinner will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 20th at the Lake Mills Fire Department. For driving directions, click here.

Two toy firetrucks will be auctioned, with all of those proceeds going to Gavin.

A bounce house, obstacle course, and a cake walk are some of the activities planned for children attending the event.

Many thanks to the Lake Mills Fire Department and Angie Hallmark for their help with the auction for Gavin.