Friends With FOP

Before I had a child diagnosed with Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, I wasn't much into fundraising for anything...  I did it when I had to,  if a friend or family member roped me into participating, but that was about it (and I didn't put a whole lot of energy into it). Now, however, fundraising has taken on a whole new importance.  To put it as plainly as possible, I HAVE to fundraise for research into a cure or effective treatment for FOP.  There's very little available right now to treat FOP, and the medications which do exist have very limited application and effectiveness.  And, ...

Last weekend my good friend Suzanne hosted an event at her house to raise money for the International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Association (IFOPA).  I figured this would be a good opportunity for a visit with the McCloskeys, so I packed up the kids and we drove down to Woodinville, Washington for the weekend (just us 3, since my husband Pete was out of town on business). Miranda and I picked up Owen from school at lunchtime on Friday, and headed off.  Lucky for us, it was a GORGEOUS sunny day - perfect for driving.  The drive down south was easy and ...

It's that time of year when parents run around and buy a pile of new clothes for their kids in honour of the new school year...  That includes me - I've recently been following that time-honoured tradition. Miranda's older brother Owen is about to start grade 2, and needed some new stuff.  Miranda herself, however, is not actually in school yet, because her January birthday means she missed the cut off to start kindergarten this year by 1 month.  Nevertheless, Miranda  is about to start a new pre-school program at her daycare, so I figure she qualifies for "back-to-school" clothes as well.  Besides, ...