Healing Hunter Foundation
HUNTER'S STORY
A Family's Story of Courage, Bravery and the Defining Moments of LOVE
Our sweet, li'l' baby love lost his battle to AML Leukemia on March 8, 2010. We fought long, hard and very aggressively for 2.5 years, only to have his cancer come back for the fourth time and finally take his life. He was only three years old. This timeline is about Hunter's amazing journey. It's about his life and his love, his determination and his courage, his absolutely brilliant personality, and the effect he has had on people all over the world.
His story has left an unimaginable footprint on this earth and changed the lives of thousands of individuals. People who did not realize how precious life was, now live it with extreme gratefulness. People who took every minute they got to spend with their children for granted, now savor every last second. Moreover, people who weren't quite sure what love is all about, now love deeper, love stronger and love with every ounce of their soul.
Additionally, people all around the world have shared their love, their well-wishes, their prayers and their inspiration with us. And we could have NEVER achieved as much as we have without them. We are humbled by their generosity, their true friendships, and are forever grateful for every last person that has come into our lives through our experience with Hunter. He was our precious baby love whom we cherished with all our hearts, and we are forever crushed and terribly, broken-hearted.
Dance in the clouds babycakes. Mom & Dad are watching proudly, and you will remain so very close to our hearts for all of eternity.
The following collection of just a few blog entries is meant to give a glimpse of Hunter and his families journey. It captures the ups and downs of his amazing battle with cancer. Each post is raw, heartfelt and an undeniable reminder of why this Foundation's work is so crucial. To read the full blog click here.
Birth of a Superhero
Hunter was born on Sept. 21, 2006. His original due date was Sept. 25th, so he was only 4 days early. My pregnancy was amazing. I never experienced morning sickness. I never had any complications, no bumps in the road, and as far as everything else...it was absolutely perfect. I went into labor around 7am the morning of the 21st and Zen and I waited it out at our house until about noon. We didn't want to get to the hospital too early and have to "walk the halls.” So we waited as long as we could, within reason. Not to mention that the hospital was only about 10 minutes away…so we could get there quickly.
I went into full on labor once we arrived at the hospital around 12:15 and Hunter was born at 5:20pm. So only about 5 hours of labor, not bad. We had a natural birth and did it without an epidural…based on our yoga and birthing classes, we did it all by taking deep breaths and focusing on different things - other than the actual pain of a child actually exiting my body through a hole the size of a dime. All I can say is holy cow…what a bizarre, yet wonderful experience. Hunter came down the birth canal to Jack Johnson and once he arrived he was cool, calm and collected. He was truly amazing. Weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 inches long…he was as perfect as can be.
