2014 Eat. Pray. Dean $ to date and some NEWS!

2014 started off pretty amazing on the fundraising front and week after week, month after month we continued to be blessed with a great number of donations and even more exciting, person after person offering to help, to walk, to run, to climb, to golf, to cycle, to fill the boot, to collect dimes, to sell lemonade, dump ice water and so many others who so creatively raised money for Dean.  We are so grateful, so thankful, so amazed at the outpouring of love for Dean that we wanted to let everyone one just how awesome they all are to our family. 

Last weekend, the last of our Great Strides Walks took place in Palm Springs, CA with three of Dean's great-aunts and some great-uncles walking the last 5K of the year for Team Eat. Pray. Dean rounding out the Great Strides total for the year to $39,405!  This is by far our most successful year yet and we couldn't have done it without our awesome family and friends in California, Conneticut, Michigan, Oregon, North Carolina, Iowa and of course here in Illinois (inclding the South Side Plumbing Contractor Social Club and Pizzolato's Pirates).  Then we have our Endurance folks.  Wow!!!  They have run, climbed and biked for Dean.  Some doing their first major races too and getting fit in the process.  To date, these team CF endurance participants have raise $13,284!

We're thankful and grateful for our daughter Cali that in a series of three events (the last, the CF Climb this Sunday the 9th) raised over $3,000 in honor of Dean.  She even had the opportunity at the CFFs 5K Superhero race to speak to the runners about why she ran.  We have seen all three of the kids eager and anxious to help raise money as well as just sit and help Dean with his treatmens or bounce on the trampoline with him.  We continue to be reminded how precious each and every day is and how blessed we are to watch our kids grow.

$52,689!  AHHH, so A.MA.ZING! 

Anyone with a burning desire to continue donating this year, there are four more events that Team Eat. Pray. Dean will participate in this year (click on the links for the pages):

Uncle Stevie leading a team at the Mustache Dash on Nov. 8th
Candy & Greg Johnson leading a team at the CF Climb for Life on Nov. 9th
Sunni Caruso & Tarah Allen running the Edwards Marathon on Nov. 9th
Turkey Day Race for Team Deluca (their first race) on Nov. 27th!!

Ending with two more bits of info....
1.  Dean's health has been FANTASTIC this year...hands down amazing. 
2.  Today, an application was submitted to the FDA for approval for a drug (two meds in one) for people 12 and older with 2 copies of the double delta F508 (read the story here)!  Translated?  We're so so close to something Dean that can CHANGE HIS LIFE.  Granted he's not 12 yet, but the trials for 6+ are taking place now so it 's in the pipeline.  The bottom line...YOU, we thank YOU for being a part of all of this.  This HOPE keeps us going, you keep us smiling and we promise you that we've thanked God for your love and help.

With unending gratitude,
Jim & Erin
xo

p.s.-if you're on facebook, please like us to get more pictures and updates:  www.facebook.com/eatpraydean

Dean, age 4, fighting CF with everything he has