Johnny's Angels
Posted by Shaun Callahan Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:14:00 GMT
Less than 48 hours ago I was contacted by a friend who let me know that a wonderful display of human caring and kindness was happening and a Groupsite was helping facilitate an amazing effort to achieve something special.
I thought, “Perfect, this can be our Groupsite Success Story for this Wednesday’s post”.
Then I heard and understood the true magnitude of what was happening.
Monday night on the 5:00 news in Baltimore, WBAL TV ran a brief piece about a special young man named Johnny Rozema which said:
“A Baltimore County community is working around the clock to make a dying child’s wish come true. For Holly and John Rozema, the week before Christmas couldn’t be more heartbreaking. Their 10-year-old son, Johnny, was given just days to live.
Johnny has been fighting a rare form of lymphoma since April. The Make A Wish Foundation had arranged for a family trip to Disney World last week, but Johnny never made it to the park.
“I thought for sure we had lost him. I carried him out to the ambulance,” Johnny’s father said. Johnny is currently at John’s Hopkins Hospital, but one of his last wishes is to die at home.
His home has been under construction and is a mess, his family said. But the community decided to step in and give the Rozema’s something special.
“There’s a miracle happening here,” said Cindy Norris, the leader of a small but determined group who call themselves Johnny’s Angels.
Norris said she’d never met the family before this week, but she put her life on hold, as many other volunteers did, to help finish the renovations before he gets home.
“Donations have just come in from everywhere, from one e-mail I sent out. People are dropping out of the sky,” Norris said.
Everything from drywall and electrical equipment to paint has been donated, Norris said. Crews are working around the clock to get the house finished and furnished in time for Johnny’s arrival, but they could still use help from the community.
The group has registered the family at Wal-Mart and Target so people can buy them bedding and kitchen supplies, as well as other essentials they need. The group also posts what’s needed on a daily basis on their Johnny’s Angels Web site.
The family said they are overwhelmed by the generosity and are holding onto their faith and belief that Johnny’s wish will come true.”
Johnny passed away today.
The community continues to send their prayers, kind words and donations and are completing their amazing effort to support the Rozema family.
If you wish to make a donation or share a kind word, please visit the Johnny’s Angels Groupsite.
Thank you.