Something real!

OK, so you've seen all those schmaltzy emails saying that some little kid is dying of cancer and wants something and it turns out to be a scam. This one isn't. If you click on the title to this post it will take you to the local news article about this amazing little girl.

This is the email that her teacher began about her:

Hi Friends, Family, Colleagues and Random People who got on my email list!

As many of you are aware, this past school year one of my kindergartners, Alyssa Bruno, was diagnosed with diffuse pontine glioma (stem cell brain tumor). She had a successful year of kindergarten, but took a dramatic turn for the worse at the end of the school year. As of now she has lost all movement in her left side and can't walk or talk. She has been on five different chemotherapy treatments and continues to be a little trooper! Everyone is praying that this upcoming week's dose of chemo will show some signs of improvement.

On August 2nd Alyssa will be celebrating her 6th birthday. I've been thinking for a long time about what to get for her, but she is very limited with what she can do right now. One thing Alyssa LOVES is to get mail. So I thought I'd email everyone on my list and ask for you all to send Alyssa a birthday card. How neat would that be for Alyssa to receive cards from all over the country and perhaps the world! I'd love it if you all could also forward this message to everyone on your list. (I'm not a fan of chain letters, but this would really make Alyssa's day!)

If you send a card please enclose a penny for "good luck"! I am going to have Alyssa collect them in a jar as a reminder of all the people who are out there praying for her. I know how busy everyone is these days, but sending a card to Alyssa would really help to brighten her long days during these next few hot months of summer. It will give her a little something to look forward to each day when she gets the mail. I've attached a few pictures so that you can put a face with the name! She's a cutie! :) Forward this along to anyone who you think might send a card.

Please post this on your blog or web site if you're of a mind to help with this project. It's real, and so is the little girl's illness.

This is Alyssa on the first day of Kindergarten:



This is Alyssa in June:



I can't emphasize enough that this isn't a scam -- and those of you that know me know that I NEVER EVER pass stuff like this along because I'm a die-hard cynic.