Leah
I met with a very special person yesterday and I wanted to tell you all a little bit about her. She is a lovely young lady with quite an impressive artistic talent!
Leah’s mother first reached out to me about a school project Leah had just completed: She needed to choose an artist that inspired her and re-create one of their pieces.
She chose ME! ☺
And my painting “Pez.”
Leah wanted to gift me the painting she had done. I was beyond flattered, thrilled and of course couldn’t wait to meet her!
A day or so before our meeting I received the below email from Leah’s mom and I was even more moved by their families story:
“I am not sure if Jeffrey passed along a little background as to why meeting David is so important to Leah… but in a nutshell, Leah has an older and a younger brother. Her younger brother, Caden, is 3 years old and was born with a severe congenital heart defect. Even though we live in West Palm Beach, he was born in Miami so he could be rushed via ambulance to Miami Children’s Hospital. He had to have surgery on his intestines when he was day old and then had open heart surgery one week later. We ended up being in Miami for almost a month. Over the next year, we had to make several visits to Miami Children’s for various heart diagnostic procedures. Then, Caden needed another open heart surgery.
When I first told her that she would be able to meet David (after screaming with excitement), the first thing she said was, “Yay, it’ll be so nice to be able to go to Miami for something GOOD for a change instead of to visit Caden in the hospital.” This broke my heart! This opportunity to meet David will be something so special just for her and can add so much needed joy back into her life.
Well, since my last email to you, Caden’s cardiologist referred him back down to Miami Children’s for another catherization. We were down for a couple of days and just got back this weekend. Based on the results, Caden will have to undergo his last open heart surgery sometime in the next month (this operation wasn’t supposed to take place for at least another 1-2 years).
So… I just wanted to make sure that our date and time is secure because I have to make a bunch of pre-operation doctor’s appointments for Caden, so he will be ready as soon as a surgery slot opens up. Please let me know as soon as possible… I want to make sure that Leah has this special day, so I don’t want to schedule any of her brother’s appointments then. Thanks again for everything!”
Dawn Silverman
The Silverman’s are a very special family and meeting Leah yesterday is something I will never forget.
Check me out with Leah and her rendition of my Pez painting! Her version is STUNNING! Keep up the amazing work Leah!
