Books for Charley {2013} - Texas Children's Hospital

Ready for another Books for Charley update??  They've been slow in coming this year, but I'm determined to give all of these special donations the spotlight that they deserve!  So far we've covered our Iowa and South Carolina donations...and next up we'll check in with our friend Madison in Texas!  Back in early July Madison had a big appointment at Texas Children's Hospital and took quite the Books for Charley haul along with her.

From Madison's CaringBridge site...

Today we headed to TCH to drop off our books and for Madison’s big cardio checkup. We left around 7:00 AM and got home right after 7:00 PM. It was a long day, but a great one!

We started our day dropping off our books. Some of the volunteers came down with a cart to load them up! A fellow heart mom, Shannon, collected 80 books and met us there as well! Together, we collected right over 500 books! AMAZING! I cannot tell you how much joy it brought me to drop off those books and think of how many heart warriors would receive a special treat in memory of precious Charlotte. I happily placed over 400 Charley’s Heart stickers on the books yesterday and was completely overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of the books. We gave TCH an amazing selection. Books I would LOVE for my own kids to have. The range in ages was pretty astounding. I do not think I could have planned it out as well as it turned out. The distribution was just perfect! It was really a perfect way to start our day.

FIVE HUNDRED BOOKS!?!  Holy cow!  I guess the phrase "Everything's bigger in Texas" applies to Books for Charley as well!  I was totally blown away when Brandi sent me a message with her collection numbers.  Not only that, but the fact that another heart mom (a complete stranger to me) collected 80 books....wow!  Thank you so much, Shannon! 

And not to skim over the REALLY important part of their trip to TCH--Madison had a FANTASTIC appointment!  There were lots of "greats" mentioned in their update.  GREAT heart function.  GREAT looking valves.  A GREAT LPA.  I can't say that I'm at all surprised...Miss Madison is a fighter!  You can read more about it HERE.

Books, books, books!  LOVE IT!

  There are so many things I love about this picture...1) The books (obviously!) 2) Two heart families coming together 3) Brandi's adorable baby bump...with a heart healthy baby boy growing away! 4) Madison's bare feet...I personally believe that shoes are overrated :)

Thank you, Gandy family, for helping make Books for Charley {2013} such a huge success.  And a huge thank you is also due to all of the people who helped you collect all of those books!!  I'm still 100% amazed! 

I cannot stop smiling...

South Carolina - 84 books

University of Iowa Children's Hospital - 167 books

Texas Children's Hospital - 500 books

Total - 751 books