***This blog entry was written by my guest blogger, my husband! Thanks Paul for taking the kids to the event and thanks even more for sharing it on the blog!***
We were very fortunate to be invited to this exciting event. It was Hospice of Michigan’s 30th birthday and Duff from Ace of Cakes was the guest speaker (and cake maker for the event). Honestly, no one really knew what to expect for this outing. It turned out to be really fun and the kids, myself, and my mother-in-law Gayle had a great time. Unfortunately, due to Keyan’s planned trip to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Keyan and Stephanie weren’t able to attend.
Stephanie and I made a decision the last time Keyan was in the hospital to talk with hospice. This was after one of the doctors from Mary Freebed had suggested it. While this decision is controversial in many people’s minds and hearts, we were very scared with her last admittance. She was very ill and we had a lot to cope with. We started to wonder how we were going to deal with the possibility of Keyan’s mortality and this is when we decided to talk to hospice. Sheila was our case worker who came to talk to us and we went over many difficult things, but in the end it was very good. Stephanie and I have a little better grip on the possibility of something going really wrong. Hopefully we will never need to engage hospice for Keyan, but they are there for us if needed. It is a terrible thing to have to think about so I will spare you the rest of the details. Just know it has been difficult to think about and deal with.
When we arrived at DeVos Performance Hall the people at the front door were very nice, although confused about some things. We were shown back to the room they had set up for Pediatric families connected to Hospice. It was an awesome setup. There was food from Panera Bread and lots of fun activities for the kids. Once the kids finished eating we broke out the crafts and the kids decorated their baker’s hats. They also decorated cookies with frosting and sprinkles. McKenzy ate the frosting as soon as she was finished decorating the cake. No need for a cookie at all! Abby was teased by the clown for how her name was spelled. He said “With two b’s in your name it is pronounced A-B-B-y. She laughed and had fun with that. Jamahl made a helmet from his hat instead of a hat. Star Wars in mind, no doubt. Sidney was her quiet self, but laughed at the clown and had fun with the activities.
Then Duff arrived! First thing the kids said is “He’s shorter than mommy!” This was pretty close to true. I think he might have edged her out by a little bit, but not much. He was very laid back. He went around to all of the tables in the room and made a point to talk with every child. Very kind! Finally he made it around to our table (the last one he had to stop at, of course). He came and shook my hand. I quickly explained that Keyan and Stephanie were not able to make it and he said he was sorry to hear that. I asked him if he would let us take a picture with all of the kids. “Of course!” he said. I even got in on the action. All I can say is Duff is a nice guy and very kind to do what he did with all of the kids at the event. He spent more time with the kids than he did with the big wigs that spent hundreds of dollars to get into the VIP room. This says a lot about his character to me. The last thing he said to me was “Good luck with all of that!” , meaning four girls in a house all the same age, at the same time. I laughed and said thanks. I will probably need it as the girls get older, buy honestly I do feel lucky. It isn’t easy, but it is rewarding.
One of the most touching, but difficult times of the night was when the CEO of Hospice, Dottie Deremo came and introduced herself. She asked how we were connected to Hospice, and I explained our situation. She said she was sorry that we had to meet due to Keyan’s situation. She shook my hand, but in the process she said “Do you mind if I give you a hug? It seems like you could use one “. I almost lost it right then and there. The real crazy thing about it was the Ariel song “Part of your world” was being played at that moment by a small band in the corner of the room. This is Keyan’s favorite song in the world (as most people know)! At that moment I missed Keyan and Stephanie so much. Needless to say, Dottie was right. I needed a hug more than I knew. Not easy for a guy to admit, but it put me at ease about being there without them.
Then we went into the auditorium and listened to Duff talk about his career and his life. He talked about how he got into the business and shared some funny stories about his life and his philosophies on work. It got a little long for the kids, but it was entertaining for the adults in the audience. Duff has lived an interesting life so far and it shows how sometimes people find the path to their perfect job. He is lucky to have come across this in life and he doesn’t let it go to his head. He seemed like an average guy who likes to share his life with everyone. Not really any different than you see on TV. It was very cool to be able to meet him and hear his story. While I’m not an avid fan, he turned out to be a great person! The kids loved the night. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to have cake. It was already 8:30pm and the kids were wiped out by this time. We decided to take them home and get them to bed. They talked about the night all the way home. It was a great night out and wouldn’t have happened if Keyan wasn’t in our lives!
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