Will Davis

Will Davis was introduced to me through Bert Woodard.  Both are board members of Joedance.  Bert followed Joe's treatments through mutual friends and Will never knew Joe. But they were a pair, as I always put it, "that fell out of the sky to support Joedance".

Will Davis is the developer of an 11th Floor movie making project, as a distraction and therapy for the patient and the content can be about anything.  This is not meant to be a documentary of what it is like to have pediatric cancer.  It is about bringing any story they want come to life.  What a wonderful project that Levine Children's Hospital has embraced and further supports their Family Centered Care philosophy.

Joe would have loved the opportunity to make a short film as patient at LCH.  A break from the endless hours of laying in bed without a goal.  The mindless days of watching TV and to leave something positive behind as a living memory.  This just is the coolest project and I am proud that Joedance is set to support it as a Presenting Sponsor.

Will thank you for your vision.

A Long Time Away

I have been away for a long time and my postings have been far and few between, but I have not forgotten you.  I have been busy (understatement) with Joedance.  My time is filled with meeting new people, securing sponsors and the general getting out there to spread the word.  And it has been exciting, draining, overwhelming, humbling and stressful.  None of which are negatives.

I once said in a conversation that I felt those who said we had something special was because they felt sorry for us.  But then came the support from people who never knew Joe, and then came the money from those who never heard of Joedance and then we started getting likes on the Facebook page from people we don't know.  A friend of a friend wants to help.  A person who knows someone who wants to enter their film contacts us. And on it goes.

This is the best way I know to honor Joe and definitely the most rewarding endeavor I have ever done in my life.  Thank you all for your support.

A Switch UP

I was going to update everyone on Joedance with this blog but I am taking a different direction.  Just before writing this blog I saw a post on the McCallie Facebook page about Jordan Thomas, a boy Joe went to school with at McCallie.  Jordan had a horrible boating accident while on vacation with his family and the result was losing both of his legs from the calf down. He started a foundation to help fund prothesis for others in need, he was nominated as a CNN Hero of the Year and he now has a video on the Golf Channel.

But what you may not know is that one of the last emails Joe read was from Jordan Thomas, and one of the last phone calls our family received was from Jordan Thomas.  I remember his words. "They call me a hero but Joe has always been my hero and I think of him every day as I continue my work."

They are both heroes. One that rose from a tragedy and one that taught us to live while dying.

Ice Covered

Charlotte is covered in ice. David leaves in the morning for Scotland and we will be on our way to Charleston afterwards to throw some rosemary in the bay and take a swig of Jameson in Joe's memory.   We will meet up with Joe's friends for dinner and memories.

I keep my fingers crossed our plans will not be derailed by Mother Nature. This trip is so important to me to visit where Joe's ashes were spread with his friends and his brothers.

And The Joedance Website Is Live

Our Website is live and you can find us at www.joedance.org.  I hope you visit the site and learn more about Joedance and our support of Phase I and Phase II Clinical Trials and Research at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This is an exciting time for Joedance Film Festival and I want to thank each and every one of you that have supported us since the very first festival and those of you who have become recent supporters.

I write these words in every letter, to every sponsor and to every donor and to this day is hard to write.  "Joedance was founded in memory of our oldest son Joe, and Tony and David's brother, who passed away at the age of 20 from Osteosarcoma".  But today these words will not bring tears to my eyes, they will guide me to a greater cause and give back the control I did not have when Joe was dying.

Our family is so appreciative of your support.

Joedance Website

Twenty plus emails today, thousands of hours writing, many hours of research, combing through photos and there it is on our website.  It is ready to be launched tomorrow.  When we started Joedance we always thought about keeping it small and local.  But we have the best of two worlds; all of you in the cyber world and all of our neighbors.

I never thought we would get to this place of Facebook, Websites, sponsors, donor packages and original films.  But here we are and here I am making sure that the spirit of Joedance does not get lost.

It is about a boy who loved films and fought against all odds to be just a boy.

Making It Through The Week

I made it through the week.  It was not pretty, it was tearful and I was drained.  But when the messages, the cards and the phone calls starting coming I knew I was not alone.  Not in my grief or those who still remember Joe.

It so hard for me to believe that is has been three years.  It seems like yesterday, and yet a lifetime ago, that we transformed our home in to a mini hospital.  It seems like yesterday I drove Joe to McCallie for his last chapel talk with twelve oxygen tanks in the back seat with Mike and my parents following behind.

It  seems like a century ago he was diagnosed.  I miss him, my family misses him and his friends miss him. Thank you for helping our family make it through his difficult week. We are fortunate to have you by our side.