Welp, the good news is that The Sparrows Westside is coming together great! My wife and her team have been so dedicated to making this happen and they are looking at having it ready to launch by the first weekend of ArtPrize (September 22). Yup! That's one week away! I am so proud to watch her handle these ridiculous situations as she is literally managing the building of an entirely new cafe that started out as messy, empty room with crappy fake chandelier lights. I've stopped by several times and I can't wait until they open the doors! Yay!
The bad new is that two weeks ago while celebrating her brother's 40th birthday party, we were staying up near Bellaire, Michigan. We were lounging outback when we heard a big smash. I listened but couldn't heard anything, so I wandered upstairs to see what it was. I saw Lori laying on the ground with a nervous look on her face. Apparently while exiting the house, she was holding a massive bag of chips and tripped on the screen door track on the floor. She went down fast, but in order to save her precious bag of chips she didn't stop herself and hurt her ankle. Considering we were an hour out from a hospital, we decided we would stay the night and head back in the morning. When we arrived in Grand Rapids, she was x-rayed and told she had broken her fibula by her ankle. Suck...
Nevertheless, Lori is pressing on and still shooting for the starting date of Sparrows West! Can't believe she's fighting through this and has supported herself with such a great team to make this dream happen!
Then there's me... The good news is that I've created a new nonprofit named, Bent Not Broken (bentnotbroken.org). The goal is to inform cancer patients about the differences between conventional and alternative treatments by having experts from both fields come in and discuss the details. We will be providing them with amazing vegan food, serving fresh cold-pressed juices, and learning from some of the best experts around. And the best part is that we have brought in speakers like Sarah Thebarge and Lisa Thompson, and musician Ralston Bowles, each of whom have gone through their battles with cancer. Check out their websites to see how awesome they are! In addition, we are lining up Scott Hamilton (scottcares.org) to come and speak at our next event we are holding next spring. I couldn't be happier about the progress we are making! If you or your company is interested in donating to this event, please let me know! Yay!
The bad news is that I suffered another grand mal seizure on Labor Day. Lori and I were getting into the car in front of Sparrows and as I was looking to back up, I starting seizing. I can't even think about what would have happened if I was actually driving. Goodness gracious. So, despite the fact that I'm now feeling fine, I can't drive for the next six months. Suck...
I keep conversing with God and asking why he can't just give us a break every now and then. But the two of us will persist and continue to struggle along as we present our dreams to our communities. But here's the interesting thing...
You.
From the moment this happened, YOU have been there to support us. My buddy and previous client, Phil Lund, set up a Go Fund Me (https://www.gofundme.com/david-and-loris-transportation) account for our "Uber fund" that keeps adding up. And not only that, my sister, Heather, set up a Meal Train account (https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/dmv9rv) for us. Now we have two FULL months of people bringing food to us every single night! And on top of that, Lori's brother Todd (considering neither of us can drive) is taking our girls to daycare for the next two months! I truly can't believe you are all willing to give of yourself for us! It's simply shocking. You are loving us in the best ways possible right now. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
More details to come soon! Much Love!