Ripple Effect

Jeremy’s recovery is coming along beautifully.  Every day he looks and feels better.  I swear that each time I look at his scar it looks different.  He is getting stronger too – just the other night he went and played tennis with a friend.  And he even went back to work yesterday; and was able to stay the whole day.  So on the recovery front, everything is progressing nicely. 

   

It is does not feel quite the same on the home front.  We have been home for 2 weeks now and we are still feeling the effects of the transplant!  Leaving your house, life and job for a month has some long term effects.  And every day we seem to discover a new one.  

The house is not all together back to normal.  There is a towering pile of mail (which Jeremy started to tackle yesterday).  There was a load of laundry that sat in the dryer for a week.  The yard needs tons of attention.  Don’t even get me started on dusting and vacuuming (because I wish it could be done on a daily basis but that is not realistic in anyone’s life).  And a full time jobs worth of thank you notes, phone calls and emails to follow up on.  It is basically life that has piled up and yet to be sorted through.

Since this blog was our way of giving the realistic picture of donating a kidney – this long term effect is a true reflection.  Not only have we had to reenter our life and get back into something called normal, but we have also had to evaluate what our lives look like moving forward.  This week has been full of travel discussions.  My big 3-0 birthday is coming up in 2 months.  This birthday has been talked about for some time – big parties, exotic trips, lavish gifts, etc.  But now those ideas have to be filtered through reality and knowing that most of them can’t really happen.  Jeremy is not in the position to take any more time off of work.  So trips are out.  Neither one of us has the energy, time or money to plan a big party.  So now it is entering into changing our expectations…. This is never fun or easy, but necessary in life.  

The other travel talks have been about Peru.  Both Jeremy and I feel called to minister in Peru.  This year Christ Fellowship has set our dates for September 20^th – 30^th.  In the past we have taken the trip in June.  So Jeremy and I have tossed the idea around to still go in June and make two trips this year.  Something we have always wanted to do.  Going alone in June will give us more time to focus on learning about the ministry in Pucallpa.  When you are leading a large mission team, there is little time to focus on anything besides the team members.  So this will be a time for us as a couple to dive into the ministry and culture of Pucallpa.  But again, what does that trip look like now that we have returned from the transplant.  The time and money issue is front and center again.

All of these things are not meant to be complaints.  But rather, recognition that with every major decision you make in life, there are side effects and additional decisions to make.  Jeremy and I just went through a major thing in our life.  Probably one of the biggest things we have done or will ever do.  Because of that we are faced with evaluating our life according to where we now stand.  We no longer see the kidney donation as a big decision for one day, but a decision we continue to make every day.        

Back to Work Tomorrow

There is no blog today because I am in mourning.

You might be wondering what I am in mourning about.  Well today is the last day of not working, tomorrow I head back to work. 

I'm scared to write too much or I might get in trouble at work, while I am looking forward to going back to work, because sitting around the house had become a little boring.  At the same time it is nice to not have to get up in the morning and go to work.

Sorry it isn't an interesting blog entry but like I said, we are mourning here so have a good day.

The Kidney Donation Story - Cliff Notes Version

It has come to our attention that some people haven’t heard the whole story, so I am going to give the whole story in a type of cliff notes version, and I am going to do it with bullets so I hope you can follow along.

1.       I met both Ashley and Kate at the same time almost 5 years ago when we all signed up for a Mission Trip to Peru through Christ Fellowship – Cityplace Campus.  We actually met in the team meetings before we went to Peru, but our friendship was not formed until we were in Peru.

2.       Our last night in Lima Kate, Ashley, Stephen, and I went back out after everyone else went to bed.  Ashley and I ended up spending the night in the lobby of the hotel, we talked about everything and that is when I learned eventually she would need a kidney, I told her then she could have mine.  I’m not claiming to be able to predict that it was going to happen but I know God has plans that are much bigger than I can possibly understand.

3.       Kate and I began dating the Tuesday after we got back from Peru, we both had to end relationships with other people first (there wasn’t even a Kiss until we ended those relationships for those of you with dirty minds).  This is important because without Kate and I getting Married Ashley and I might not have remained in contact.

4.       Kate and I took 2 trips with Ashley in the first year of our dating relationship, one to Charleston and one to where they went to college in Catawba.

5.       Kate and I got engaged the day after our second trip to Peru the following year.  That is right we have gone back to Peru every summer since for 4 years and led a group of people from Cityplace to the Jungles of Peru.

6.       Kate and I were married in January of 2009, Ashley was a bridesmaid in the wedding and came down to West Palm to Share the day with us.

7.       In August of 2010 Kate and I took a monster road trip through, Louisville, Niagara Falls, Skaneatles NY,  my grandmother’s house in New Jersey, and lastly to UNC Chapel Hill where Ashley was in the hospital. 

8.       While visiting Ashley she told us that she was in renal failure (her kidney’s weren’t working). 

9.       When we left the hospital we made it two blocks before I had to pull over to comfort Kate and stop the crying.

10.   Kate told me she was going to donate her kidney to Ashley.  I knew she was going to say that, we had talked about it before, but I knew in my mind that it was a better option for me to donate; I will list our reasons below.  So on the drive home I think I mostly convinced Kate I would be the donor, but we talked about it for a while after.

a.       We want to have children and we don’t want to put Kate’s body through an organ donation and then pregnancy.

b.      I would be paid during my time off, and Kate runs her own business and wouldn’t.

c.       We didn’t talk about this before, but Kate was a much better nurse than I would have been.

d.      Since Kate works from home she would be there to help me during recovery.

e.      There were a couple more but I am drawing a blank.

11.   We actually asked UNC if we could both be tested as a match, they said only one person at a time and that is when we officially decided I would be the first of us to take a shot at being a donor.

12.   I had my blood drawn in Florida, shipped it FedEx to UNC even though the label said no bodily fluids, and I was confirmed as a blood match in October of 2010. 

13.   When we first started this process we though the donation would happen in January of 2011, then maybe summer of 2012, we were told we would be able to plan it out when it was convenient because Ashley wasn’t in immediate need, and we were ahead of the curve, just keep that in mind.

14.   June 2011 Kate and I traveled to UNC for further testing to confirm that I was healthy enough to be a kidney donor. They run 3 days of tests, draw more blood than you think you have, and have you meet with more doctors than you ever have including a psychologist, and a social worker.

15.   The results were that I had low iron levels, and a Splenomegaly (enlarged spleen).

16.   We left UNC not knowing if I would be able to donate, and what the next step would be.

17.   When we got back to Florida I had to meet with a hematologist to find out why my iron was low and what was going on with my spleen.

a.       It was determined my spleen was not enlarged but misshapen, so that wouldn’t be a problem.

b.      It also was determined that my iron levels were low because of donating blood too much and eating a poor diet over the prior 6 months.  They weren’t a hundred percent sure so I would still be required to get a colonoscopy and endoscopy.

18.   At this point when we were about to schedule those procedures Ashley called us to let us know here insurance was declining to cover the procedure.  They said her quality of life was not worth the costs of the surgery.  This meant several things.

a.       She was going to have to fight the Insurance Company in court to cover the surgery.

b.      If they didn’t cover the surgery she was going to need to raise $175,000, when already she needed to raise $50,000.

c.       That the surgery was not going to happen in August 2011.

19.   In Early December of 2010 Ashley called us to tell us that 2 days before her case was scheduled to go in front of a Judge that the insurance had dropped their case and was going to cover the surgery.

20.   We were super excited, but I still had to have the colonoscopy and endoscopy, so that was scheduled for December 21^st.

a.       Side note, my doctor who performed these procedures, waived all my co-pays and wrote off $140 dollars of the surgery for us.  How awesome was that.

b.      The results were good I did not have an internal bleed and I was going to be able to donate.

21.   Late in December we were told the surgery was going to be scheduled for February 7^th.

a.       Did I mention that it wasn’t a hundred percent confirmed?

22.   I told work on January 6^th because I needed to give 30 days’ notice, even though I wasn’t sure it was going to happen on the 7^th but I needed to be safe.

a.       Work was great about it, we weren’t freaking out but we weren’t sure how they would take it me being gone for 4 to 6 weeks, but they were supportive and very helpful the whole time.

23.   Then UNC called and said the nephrologist I met with at UNC had consulted on Ashley’s case, this was a problem because by law I had to meet with an independent Nephrologist (kidney doctor), so we would need to schedule an appointment in Florida with a Nephrologist.

24.   January 21^st I met with my Nephrologist in Florida, which was a Friday, and on that Monday he sent the paperwork back to UNC saying I was approved to be a donor.

25.   At this point the donation was backed up to Feb 14^th, Valentine’s day. 

26.   UNC had to submit me to Ashley’s Insurance at this point, since they had approved her for a cadaver donor.  By law they have 15 days to respond to this, and they took their sweet time.

a.       We aren’t sure when it was submitted by UNC but they told us the insurance had until Feb. 15^th to respond.

b.      This meant the surgery was going to be pushed to Feb. 21^st. 

c.       This is when we found out that we would have to be at UNC on Feb. 16^th for pre-op.  Even though we wouldn’t know if we were approved until Feb. 15^th.

27.   Insurance approved us on Feb 13^th.  So we were able to pack and be at UNC by the 16^th.

28.   Pre-op went great no hiccups.

29.   Ashley was admitted to the hospital Saturday before the surgery just for safe keeping and precautions.

30.   On February 21^st 3 days after my birthday, almost 5 years after I met Ashley and Kate and 17 months after we decided to donate my kidney to Ashley, I woke up went to the hospital and ended the day with one less kidney than I woke up with.

31.   It was an incredibly long journey with so many ups and downs along the way, but it was totally worth it.  I don’t think I would change one thing, it has strengthened my faith in God, strengthened my marriage and impacted more people than Kate, Ashley and I could have ever imagined.  To quote Ashley loosely cause I didn’t write this down and someone else told me she said it, “When I started this, I thought it was about me, I needed a kidney, I was getting a kidney, but it turned out to be about so much more than me, I was just a little part”.

32.   Lastly none of this could have happened and turned out so well without the prayers and support of so many people, thank you so much, Kate and I will never be able to thank you all appropriately but when you know you have the Family of God behind you that it is going to work out. 

33.   We have heard story’s of people that we have never met praying for us and our story impacting people that we would have never had a chance to otherwise even meet.  How cool is that, and it is definitely a God thing.  

Big Thank You

Saturday Night there was an event held on Palm Beach to help Kate and me, the weather was absolutely amazing it was a chamber of commerce south Florida night, and a great time was had by all. 

The event was put on by the Foundation for CommunityBetterment – Palm Beach County Chapter.  There had to be about 150 people there and they had all kinds of great entertainment, a silent auction, and great appetizers and desserts.  They even had a silent DJ, who had these headphones that everyone put on so they could dance but the rest of us could talk because there was no loud music, what an incredible idea.  Kate and her sister really enjoyed that and the dancing, I didn’t dance so much because of the surgery, at least that is what I am saying really I’m not much of a dancer.

Kate and I had a great night, I got to bust out my Whale Pants (light blue pants with Whales on them that we got on Martha’s Vineyard).  We met a lot of new and interesting people and even got to spend some time with old friends Steve Echelman and Cristina Justamante, not to mention that Kate’s sister Betsy was able to make it out so Kate had a dance partner. 

Thanks Again to the Foundation for Community Betterment for putting this event on for us.

Cleaning the Closet

Diagonal Stripes!!! NICE!!!!

Kate and I got some clothes yesterday at the new JCP (JC Penneys for those who don't know).

In our house we are short on closet space and hangers so new clothes in, mean old clothes out, so you have a place to hang them. We both found these gems tucked tightly between other shirts and I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we met eachother for the first time wearing these shirts.

Better with Betterment

Last week I posted the exciting news the Community Betterment was hosting an event and proceeds will be benefiting Jeremy and myself (and hopefully Ashley too).  You can read the full blog post HERE.  

The Kidney Cutie family has truly rallied to support this transplant.  Most of the fundraisers took place in North Carolina . . . . .  So pay attention West Palm Beacher. . . . . Here is your turn!

We would love to have your support and see your happy face at this fun event.  And know that Jeremy and I see any form of fundraising (be it for Peru, the Junior League or the transplant, etc) as a way to share the story and allow others to be involved in the journey.  We know what a blessing it has been for us to give this kidney to Ashley, so we want to allow others to be involved in the blessings as well.  Hope you can join in. 

The party starts THIS Saturday, March 24th, 6-9pm in Via Amore off Worth Avenue!

OUR TREAT TO YOU: Get $25 off your ticket this Thursday and Friday until noon when you register online: HERE ($50/person; $90/couple).The purchase of each ticket automatically enters you into our grand prize for a week's getaway for 2 anywhere in the U.S.!

There will be refreshing drinks and yummy food.  Fun entertainment and exciting raffles.

Please Pre-Buy your tickets and Register  HERE
Visit the Facebook Event Page HERE

 
SPONSORS and DONORS:
AutoCricket.com
JasonBrian.com
Cafe via Flora
Pour Sip Savor
The Sugar Monkey
Cory and Debbie Lipoff
Lookmatic.com
Jeff Cole
Tito's Vodka
Gosling's Rum
The Production Kitchen
Burton Handlesman
The Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach
The Islander Resort in Islamorada
Bulletproof Wines
Cafe Sapori
Helen Ficalora Jewelry
Key Leaf
Joy Palm Beach

Katydid Designs
DavidK Space
Tory Burch
Hot Shots Paintball

1 Month Update: Jeremy

I’m not sure I ever considered what it would look like 1 month after the donation; it is really crazy to think that it has been a full month.  I mean we haven’t even been home for a full week yet, the time has kind of stood still for us, yet it just continues to march on.

I don’t really have any new information from the doctor’s; I haven’t seen a doctor since we left UNC.  I did have blood drawn yesterday and peed in a cup so that everything can be analyzed to make sure I am doing well.  I have my 30 day follow up appt. on Monday which is a couple of days late but not that bad.

I don’t expect anything to be that unusual.  Kate and I are both anxious to find out what my Creatinine levels will be (that is what they check for kidney function).  My blood pressure was a little high 140/90 during my last visit to UNC so we hope that will come down a little bit, we bought a BP machine for home so we can monitor it and it has been lower when I take it at home so it might be a case of white coat syndrome (nervous in front of the doctors).

As far as my recovery it is going well, I’m not out jogging or anything yet, but I was able to drive myself around the last couple of days and I have been off pain medication for about 5 days.   A lot of people say they like pain medication but I really don’t enjoy the way it makes me feel, kind of like I am drunk all the time. 

As far as the incision goes it seems to be healing, I’m not sure if I can tell that much difference between now and the last time we took a picture but there seems to be a lot less seepage. 

Here are some answers to the most popular questions.

When am I going back to work?

My goal was April 2^nd before the surgery, I haven’t been given approval to return to work yet I hope to get that when I see the doctor on Monday.  If I get approved on Monday I might try to do a half day on Thursday and Friday so I can ease into it a little bit.  But right now I should definitely be back by the 2^nd.

Do I feel different inside?

I still am not sure how to answer this.  My stomach is definitely misshapen, I’m not sure if it is still swollen or that is permanent.  I see people walking around sometimes with parts of their stomach sticking weird directions and now I wonder is that going to be me for the rest of my life.  Sometimes when I take a deep breath or yawn I can feel something on my left side, originally I thought it was the air stopping there but I think it is my lung pushing on the empty space.  This is one of those times where I should have probably kept my mouth shut to avoid sound dumb about where my organs are. 

There has been one time that I noticed it, I was sitting on the couch and I lifted my left foot to scratch it up by my side, and I had an incredibly sharp pain in my side, like I was pinching something inside of me.  I have no idea what it was, but I try not to do that anymore. 

Can I see the scar?

Yes, Sorry I don't have that attractive of a stomach.

30 Days After the Surgery

14 Days After the Surgery

What does it feel like to have a part of you inside someone else?

This is way too deep and hard to answer yet, so I will do an entire post about this at some point.

 A month later I feel well, probably not as good as I thought I would.  If I sit upright for more than an hour I am very sore.  If Kate and I do any activity, driving, walking even animated conversations for any length of time I am very exhausted at the end and need to rest.  I’m still not making particularly quick movements from side to side, and I know if I had to I could throw or swing something but I would pay a heavy price later.

This has been a very amazing experience for me and I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I just want to give a real picture of what the recovery looks like.

So many people online say they are back to work in 2 weeks, which I guess is possible with lots of pain medication, but my production would have been awful.  Other people have said things like it is a piece of cake or no big deal, which doesn’t paint a fair picture, It is a big deal, and it does take time to recover.  

As I look back on the last month, all I can really think is a month ago they took an organ from my body, (seriously), and put it in Ashley and now it is filtering her blood, how cool is that.

1 Month Update: Ashley

After the surgery, I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday 2/25. That first week I slept and rested and even spent a few days with Kate and Jeremy.  I was able to also start exercising on the treadmill (2.0 mph for 30 min) and doing physical therapy exercises.  The next Saturday, March 3^rd, Jeremy, his friend Todd, my mom, and I attended a heart/lung transplant luncheon. We both got up and spoke (I refused to do it by myself).  It was a really nice luncheon and I believe Jeremy posted the video of our speech.

When I got home that day, I had some severe urine discoloration and was readmitted to UNC for dehydration and nausea. I was in the UNC from Saturday, March 3^rd till Wednesday the 7^th.  I spent most of my time in the hospital sleeping. When they discharged me, I went and stayed again with Jeremy and Kate in Chapel Hill.  At that time, I was hydrated, but the nausea was continuing.

Then the nausea turned into pain and the pain became debilitating. My boyfriend Lee had to rush me to the ER on Monday night (3/12) where I was given a shot of diladid. My bloodwork and CAT scan came out ok, so they let me go home. I had an appointment early in the morning at UNC, so I got 40 minutes of sleep and then headed to Chapel Hill with my dad. By the time we got there, the pain had returned and by the time I reached my appointment location, I was in so much pain I could barely speak. They wheeled me down to the ER where I was eventually given 2 more shots of diladid and readmitted to figure out what was going on.

During the 5 days in the hospital, my medical team ran several tests.  After an endoscopy, bloodwork, and an MRI it was concluded that my problem was 2-fold. I have probably been accidentally exposed to gluten and my MRI showed cysts that are bursting on my pancreas. The pain I have been going through can only be compared to pancreatitis. I use to get pancreatitis all the time as a teenager, but have not had it since August 23, 1998. I remember that because it was my 2nd day of orientation at Catawba College. Unfortunately, there is nothing anyone can do about either diagnosis. So, my surgical team has decided I should try and control the pain in a way similar to Fibromyalgia patients. They have started me on Cymbalta because it will increase my seratonin levels, which will help naturally mask my pain. Let's be clear, I'm not thrilled about this treatment. I don't want to take a medication that is going to alter my brain chemistry when I don't suffer from depression. I do, however, have anxiety from time to time, so I am choosing to look at this course of treatment as a way to help me with my anxiety (maybe I won't flip out every time I have to use a public restroom!) and I certainly can't live my life in agonizing pain or doped up on opiates. My doctors are insanely intelligent, so I am going to do whatever they tell me to do, but no one says I have to like it!

I hope that in 6 months I can report on how much this new medication has improved my life and how the doctors proved me wrong. Believe it or not, I like better when they do that than when I am the one having to teach them. And yes, sometimes that's how it works.
 

The day I got out of the hospital this last time (this past Saturday) Lee and I went to a wonderful dinner at Bonefish Grill. Last summer my childhood friend Nicole organized a charity golf fundraiser for me a neighboring city. Coincidentally, her father won a dinner for 10 to Bonefish. They invited Lee and me to go with them. We were treated to almost everything on their menu. This worked perfectly for me because they have a gluten free menu, so I knew exactly which foods I could eat and which to avoid. We had a great time and really enjoyed the company.

Since this last discharge on the 17^th, I have had a little bit of nausea, but no pain.  Jash is working perfectly!!!!!   My creatnin waivers between .7-.8. It will probably increase as I put back on muscle mass (I'm only 89-90 lbs right now), but that is only an indication of muscle, not of my actual kidney function.  I am focusing on my liquid intake to avoid dehydration again.  I hit a record of 91 ounces on Monday! This Friday I go back to clinic for blood work and hopefully to have my line taken out.  I will be returning to work with Joshua this Saturday and to the college on Monday. Next week I have an appointment with my neurologist to get the approval to get my license back. Slowly, but surely, I am getting my life back!

*There will be a 1 month update from Jeremy tomorrow*

When the Routine isn't Routine

So we are back in Florida and trying to settle back into the normal routine.  While I am talking about the routine I know you have become used to a post a day from Kate and I but moving forward we won’t be posting every day.  First of all there isn’t as much to talk about being home and recovering, and second since we are back into are regular routine there isn’t quite as much time to post.  We hope this will allow are posts to have a little more depth to them.

Kate has made most of the posts since we started traveling back to Florida.  The ride in the car was very difficult for me.  We didn’t drive more than 4 hours a day, but in those 4 hours of driving you have no idea how much your insides move around in a moving car. 

On the second day I was in quite a bit of pain, so much so that I needed to start on the pain medication again.  Also on that day I realized that if I sat on top of the bottom part of the seatbelt it wouldn’t rub on my incisions, which helped a lot.  I am very lucky to have such a wonderful wife to take the time driving me back and putting up with me during all of my complaining on the trip.  We traveled the back roads for most of the trip, and I navigated in a scenic way that I know frustrated her some of the time, but we made it safely and had a pretty good time.

Now that we are back we have settled into our normal routine.  I was able to attend the Christ Fellowship Cityplace Men’s prayer breakfast, it was very good to see many of the men from my men’s group and the other leaders of the church.  Sunday we attended church, I had missed the worship, there is just something about worship in the harriet it is a great venue.  Once again John had a great sermon and it was good to be back to our church home. 

Sunday afternoon Philip offered me a ticket to a spring training game between the Marlins and the Twins.  It was a beautiful day and a great game, but sitting in a bleacher chair for 3 hours made me sorer than I had been in a long time.  It is crazy to think that just sitting in a chair can be something that strains your body the same as an hour long workout, but that is the case when you are recovering from surgery.  Slowly I am able to get about more and more on a daily basis, but several hours of activity are always followed by several hours of rest.

Kate says it best when people see me out I am dressed and look normal but around the house I am usually in mesh shorts and resting from the trips outside.  I would also like to thank those of you who have brought meals the last two nights, they were very good and Kate and I were very thankful to not have to cook.

The next blog post should be on Wednesday, we will try to post on Monday and Wednesday and then one post on Friday or Saturday for the new schedule.  Thanks again for taking the time to follow us on this journey. 

One last note is that Ashley is doing very well, she is out of the Hospital and getting closer to being back to her normal routine.  She was able to drink 91 ounces of fluid yesterday which is a huge accomplishment.  We will continue to keep you updated on her status. 

Take me out to the ballgame

With Josh and Phillip. Thanks for the ticket Phillip.

Bon Voyage with Betterment

The thing that has amazed me the most through this whole experience is how much support we have received.  I know I sound like a broken record, but it has meant so much to Jeremy and me to have this network of people routing for us.  It was amazing to be in North Carolina and be wrapped in the love and support from Ashley’s group of friends, family and supports.  And now that we are home, we are being showered with love from our own friends and family.  My sister even set up a food sign up and we are covered for meals through the weekend.

One enormous blessing is taking place next Saturday….. Bon Voyage with Betterment.  Right before we left NC, I received a phone call from West Palm Beach’s local chapter of Community Betterment.  They called to inform us that we had been chosen as their next immediate need receipt for their upcoming event.  Meaning they will help pay and cover expenses during Jeremy’s recovery now that we are home.  Ashley’s Kidney Cutie team did an AMAZING job fundraising and all their efforts have covered our expenses in NC and all the medical expenses.  Now in steps Community Betterment to financially cover our local recovery and those additional expenses that are not eligible under Ashley’s fundraising (COTA).  The day I got the phone call I was almost speechless.  Quite overwhelmed. I could not believe the assistance they were offering and how much people are rallying around us.  God has provided in so many ways and we have been so blessed to witness it!

Let me back up and tell you about Community Betterment.  The Foundation for Community Betterment is a national organization dedicated to community enhancement by creating an immediate, positive impact on the lives of individuals or organizations that share our philanthropic vision, but who currently lack the means to succeed."  Community Betterment hosts a series of fundraising events to be able to provide assistance to individuals in our local communities who are having difficulties in life, be it from illness, natural disaster, poverty or just simple bad luck but have also demonstrated generosity, courage and commitment to charitable causes and community generosity, even in the face of their troubles. Betterment raises money to support a variety of individuals and organizations. Betterment recipients come in all shapes and sizes from young, old, large, small. Their hope is that support from Betterment will be a gift that keeps on giving -- when recipients continue to positively impact those around them.  Receipts must meet some basic requirements; Aid will make an immediate impact (there is an immediate need), the recipient is in the Betterment Network (comes recommended) and will be the gift that keeps on giving (receipt also give back to the community). I guess Jeremy and I fit that bill!   

Now for the fun stuff.  Community Betterment is hosting an event – their largest event yet!  And a percentage of the night – via ticket sales and raffle sales – will go to cover expenses during recovery.  So join us at 'Bon Voyage with Betterment' on March 24, 2012 at 256 Worth Ave. in Palm Beach (formerly known as the Gucci Courtyard). Come out to the event, have fun, give back and see us.  We will be there!

Bon Voyage with Betterment Party

Cocktails - Food - Entertainment - Music - Auctions

Saturday, March 24, 2012  6:00PM

Event Location: Gucci Courtyard off Worth Avenue, Palm Beach

Gucci Courtyard
Worth Avenue and Hibiscus Ave.
Palm Beach, FL 33480 

Win a Week's Getaway for TWO Anywhere in the U.S.!*

Purchase of Event ticket includes one raffle ticket for the week's getaway grand prize!

*Location of RCI timeshare and date to be determined by winner and subject to availability.  condo size may vary based on location/availability.  Size ranges from studio up to three bedroom.  Condo must be booked one month in advance of travel.  Travel must be completed by 3/24/13.  Includes two $250 flight vouchers.  You need not be present to win.

View the Facebook Invite HERE

Please click HERE to register for the event NOW and enter the RAFFLE! 

If you cannot attend the party but would like to donate to this event, you may do so by clicking HERE.

The Fun filled evening will include…. wine tasting by Pour Sip Savor, food by Cafe via Flora, sweets by The Sugar Monkey, entertainment and exciting auctions!

Each guest will automatically be entered into the raffle for a WEEK'S GETAWAY FOR TWO ANYWHERE in the U.S. where RCI Timeshares are available PLUS two $250 airline vouchers, as well other travel-related prizes available for raffle. Destinations include New York, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado and many other desirable vacation spots!

GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY & SAVE! Tickets purchased by March 19th are $75 per person or $125 for two tickets AND includes one raffle ticket for a chance to win the getaway. Additional raffle tickets for the getaway are $25 each during the event. Tickets at the door are $90 per person or $150 per couple.


SPONSORS and DONATIONS currently include:
Cafe via Flora
Pour Sip Savor
The Sugar Monkey
AutoCricket.com
JasonBrian.com
Cory and Debbie Lipoff
Lookmatic.com
Jeff Cole
Tito's Vodka
The Production Kitchen
Burton Handlesman
The Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach
The Islander Resort in Islamorada
Bulletproof Wines
Cafe Sapori
Helen Ficalora Jewelry
Key Leaf
Joy Palm Beach
DavidK Space
Hot Shots Paintball

Katydid Designs

Please click HERE to register for the event NOW and enter the RAFFLE! 

If you cannot attend the party but would like to donate to this event, you may do so by clicking here.

 

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!