A boy with a dream

The day I found out I was pregnant, I discovered and joined a site called Babycenter. The community portion of the site has many different message board groups, and after Sophie was born a little early I ended up joining the board for January 2010 babies. Over time smaller groups of mothers got to know each other better, and share many details of our lives in support of each other.

Then almost exactly one year ago, October 12, 2010, everything changed for one mother in our little band of internet friends. Her older son, Ethan, had his first tonic-clonic seizure. Taryn, his mother, writes about that day in her blog here. He has been diagnosed with Doose syndrome, the most rare of childhood epilepsies.

Ethan has a dream, though. He wants to go to the beach. His parents want nothing more than to let him experience that, but just aren't financially able to travel from Colorado to California. Several other mothers in our merry band were talking, another one purchased a domain, and the website Feet in the Sand was born. The purpose is to get Ethan's story out there, and have a place to donate to the family so they can grant Ethan's only wish. I would like it to go beyond that goal, though. In just this one year of fighting his disease, the family already has over a million dollars in medical bills. Can you imagine? I'd love for the site to stay active long after Ethan gets his beach vacation to help out with their endless medical expenses.

Please visit Taryn's blog, and then visit Feet in the Sand, and donate any amount, large or small, to this family. And spread the word. Share the links with your friends. They really need the support and encouragement right now.

Ethan