Breakfast+Auction

Are you wondering how things went this weekend?

The breakfast and auction went well!!! We raised a decent amount of money and feel good about that. We feel REALLY good about all the people who were there to help. Including those of you who donated items for the auction (and those who bought them!) or came and had breakfast with us instead of at home.

My parents ward and neighbors really did all the cooking. They were amazing. Bishop Fuller has the mass production of pancakes down to an art!

Our auctioneer is the father of a customer from Whole Grain Bakery where my mom works. His name is Bruce and he was awesome. We really couldn't have done the auction without him. He knew what he was doing and was so patient and kind with me!

Skyline H.S. National Honor Society was so helpful as well. I didn't get their names, but there was a group of girls who helped me with the silent auction. They were very responsible and so willing to help. All those kids were great to give up their Saturday morning to come wipe down tables and help out where ever they were needed. Their teacher was awesome too. I didn't get her name though. (sorry...but thanks for all you did!)

I have been running off of a couple of hours of sleep a night for too many nights in a row with a cold on top of it....not good. I forgot to take a camera to the breakfast...I was too busy to take pictures anyways...but I could have had someone else take pictures but I didn't even think of that.

This fundraiser was defiantly a learning experience. If anyone reading this is in a similar situation as our family...here are a few pointers if you are wanting to do an event like this:  For starters....give yourself at least 3 months to plan (we had a little over a month)...and really really work on ticket sells and don't have your event in a large facility if you are having an auction.

All in all...we are so glad we had the breakfast and auction. We raised money that we wouldn't have otherwise and we had the chance to work along side some really wonderful people who are just good to the core and willing to do all they can to help our family.

Knowing that there are people around you who really care is priceless.

Thank you THANK YOU thank you to everyone who participated in any way! We love you!

~Jen

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My dad will meet with the team over at Mayo Clinic this Friday.
After talking to my mom this weekend...there are a few new things I have learned. For starters...we will be looking for a live donor for my dad as well. Remember what I said before about them using a cadaver being the best? Well... I guess that information wasn't 100% correct because they were told last week that a live donor would be best and that they can reconstruct bile ducts for my dad to go along with his portion of the liver. They also told us that my dad is at an 11. A 15 what they look for. But, they said you can go up or down on that scale in a matter of days. My dad used to be at about an 18 a couple months ago. From what it sounds like, they will put him on the donor list and his place in the list will go up or down depending on his health. If he shoots up to a 28...his place on the list will go up. If he does down to a 9, his place on the list will go down. But...they don't want to wait until his health is too bad because than the chances of his body accepting the new liver and recovering from the surgery will not be as great. Meanwhile, we will be able to start testing (whoever wants to) to find a match for a live donor. My parents social worker through Mayo will be the person to contact. BUT...none of this will happen until after their visit with the doctors this Friday.