Inspiration

Jamie’s Gems – A Mother’s Love

 

Today in “Jamie’s Gem’s…A special bond between mother and son.

 

“A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.” (Dorothy Canfield Fisher)

 

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Of all the gifts life has to offer, a loving mother is one of the greatest of them all. There truly is no love like a mother’s unwavering unconditional love. They are 100% the most extraordinary beings ever created. They are the heart of the family.

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother” (Abraham Lincoln).

I know for me personally, there is no human in the entire universe like my mom. She’s the first person I call when I have good news. She’s the first person I call when I have bad news or sad news. She gives me wise, heartfelt, experienced advice and if she doesn’t have the answer, she gets to work immediately trying to find the answer or solution, whether it’s researching  on the internet or calling in the troops, friends and family for answers or assistance finding the answers. She holds my hand when I am scared; she is unconditionally, unwaveringly always always there for me. I do not know who i’d be or where I’d be without my angel mother. She’s my inspiration, my very best friend or as TV doctors Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang would say (on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy”), she’s “my person.” Mother’s are MAGIC!

With Mother’s Day taking place recently, I thought it was the perfect time to recognize another mother who I find absolutely out of this world extraordinary and spectacular! Her name is Rebecca Riley.

Through work and through life, I have been so fortunate to meet some pretty incredible people over the years.   Recently, I was lucky enough to meet 12-year-old Riley Kim, the son of two amazingly strong and loving parents, Andrew Kim and Rebecca Riley. Riley is an intellectually gifted student who has big dreams of growing up to become a scientist and hopes to one day invent a time machine.

On July 29, 2014 — the summer before he was all set and super excited to begin middle school at Patrick Henry Science and Technology Magnet, Riley was diagnosed with Stage 4 Clinical Group 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS). Now instead of pursuing his science dreams, enjoying middle school and just being a kid, Riley is in the fight of his life. From what I have been told, ARMS is a very rare type of cancer that is often described as a monster of a cancer — with only about 10 kids in the USA getting Riley’s diagnosis each year. Ever since his diagnosis, he has been undergoing the most aggressive chemotherapy regimen possible as well as 6 weeks of radiation. As expected, this intense, aggressive treatment for Riley is not only hard and grueling on his young body but it has also turned the entire family’s life upside down.

Well, not to anyone’s surprise, Riley wanted his incredible mother Rebecca by his side 24/7 every step of the way, so without hesitation Rebecca left her job last year in order to be there for Riley 150% ever since this cancer journey began.   Watching her incredible love firsthand, hearing all of the sacrifices both she and Andy have made ~ has touched my heart in a very very huge way.   Love is EVERYTHING! It is the most sacred, beautiful gift of them all. Not all of us are lucky enough to have the gift of incredible parents. And man, Riley struck the golden ticket jackpot with his amazing parents. Their lives are completely selfless and all about taking care of their three beautiful children.

Here’s a video showing Rebecca and Andy’s amazing support for their son…

Thank you, Rebecca, for inspiring me and touching me with your incredible love. And for having time and room your heart to share your love with me, despite all you are currently dealing with. You amaze me and you inspire me.  I am so grateful to have crossed paths with you and to be able to call you my friend.

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Please keep not only Riley and his family in your prayers, but all of the families of children battling this horrible disease! I know Riley is going to beat this and I just can’t wait to celebrate when he is cancer free! And I can’t wait to take a ride in this future scientist’s time machine! If anyone can do it, Riley can do it!

If you would like to support Riley, here’s a link to his Team Riley Facebook page, where you can learn more about his story, follow his cancer journey and post a Team Riley photo to show your support.

Carlo, Riley’s younger brother gets so excited marking pins in their world map showing all the places around the world Riley has support. I hope you will spread the word and continue to offer the worldwide support for this fabulous kid. Also, here is a link to his Gofundme fundraising page where you can make a donation to this amazing family to help offset the astronomical hospital and medical bills. With Rebecca leaving her job in order to be with Riley 24/7, Andy has the entire burden of supporting the family and getting all of the medical bills paid – insurance companies only cover so much.


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This article is dedicated to Andrew, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Riley, and Carlo.

 

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