The Tin Man's Heart Watch Day #5

We haven't figured it out "why" yet, but Holden only likes to eat at joints that feature a salad bar. Home? Won't eat. Another person's house? I blame their cooking. A classy joint like a Ruth's Chris or a Captain D's? We don't even order for him anymore.

Throw a 20 feet long brass laden serving bar equipped with a sneeze guard in any of those places? He'll take on Joey Chestnut.

We took him to Sweet Tomatoes tonight just to watch him eat. The picture speaks for itself. 

The Tin Man's Heart Watch Day #4

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Holden Has Something He Wants to Tell You...

I'M GETTING A NEW HEART!

The Tin Man's New Heart

It's hard to believe it was a few weeks ago now, but on October 3^rd Holden’s cardiologist informed us that Holden’s best chance at long term success is with a heart transplant. We know it was not an easy decision for crew at Arnold Palmer Hospital, but after numerous consults and tests they determined that another operation to repair his heart would only be a band-aid, and at some point in the future, we’d be in the same spot we are today. It is not worth the stress it could put on his body.

For Nicole and I, the news was hard, but we had prepared ourselves. The word "transplant" was an elephant that first entered the room back in June. It wasn't a major option at the time, but as the weeks progressed it began to look more and more likely.

Holden's Birthday Gift

For Holden's birthday we got him a fish. That's right, we bought a two year old a fish. To understand the complex background of such a gift we have to shoot back a couple weeks ago when Holden figured out how to change the channel with the remote control. I believe it was a couple clicks up, but landing on channel 1100 was a absolute game changer for the kid. In only an instant, AT&T UVerse pay-per-view advertisements flooded our screen. That wasn't the the thrill though. No, the thrill was the background behind those translucent ads. It was continuous loop of tropical fish swimming aimlessly. The geniuses at AT&T probably thought it was clever, cheap, and unsophisticated footage. For Holden, it was the most amazing thing in the history of ever.

Two Years Old

I’ll probably tell this story again 40 times, so forgive me. It all seems like such a flash, but Holden was born two years ago today. It was one heck of a morning.

It was October 11^th, early in the morning. We were scheduled for a big C at 7:30 AM (I say we, but it was really Nicole going under the knife). I roping my way through only a couple hours of sleep, all reduced by the anticipation of what was to come. After arriving at the hospital, we valeted, walked up to a tiny waiting area, and sat. I was maybe 5 minutes in before I announced that my intentions to go get some coffee to try and counter the fight that my weighted eyelids were putting up. Without much objection, I set off for the cafeteria and loaded up a 20 ouncer of Dunkin’s finest. As I rushed back up to the waiting room. Nicole was nowhere to be found.  

Tin Man at the 2013 Miracle Miles!

 

The 2013 Miracle Miles was an unbelievable success! As a team we raised almost $9,000 for the NICU at Winnie Palmer Hospital. Taking into account that a donor matched all money raised for the race, Team Tin Man was responsible for almost $18,000 in donations this year. Throughout the day, we were greeted by several of the hospital's doctors who asked us to thank every one of you personally for making such a number possible.

For the run, our team stood 83 strong and once again littered the streets of Downtown Orlando in our awesome, Patricia Durfee custom designed shirts (Thank you to Mirus Ventures, Scendia Med-Surg, and the Spine and Scoliosis Center for making those possible). Included in that group was our first ever award winner, Jennifer O’Brien, who finished 3rd place in her 15k age group. We also were excited to see a couple teammates making their way from Abbotsford, British Columbia for the race. (They said it was hot, eh)

Thank you to everyone who walked, ran, and donated in the name of Team Tin Man, we are forever grateful for your support. This race has been, and will continue to be a rallying point for Holden's fight. Seeing so many people sacrifice their morning and (in some cases) bodies is amazing.

Please mark your calendars for join us on February 8, 2013 for the Orlando Chili Cook-Off!

Thank you!

Trey, Nicole, And Holden Flynn

More photos after the jump...