A Touch of Scarlett, our journey with a rare bleeding disorder

Every year children from the Hemophilia Foundation of Northern California (aged 7 and up) and other foundations are given the opportunity to attend Camp Hemotion. A camp just for those affected with a bleeding disorder. Making the choice to send Scarlett to a week long camp was an incredibly tough decision, but I'm so grateful I agreed to let her go, as I know the memories and independence she gained will last her a life time. Last year Scarlett wanted to attend but I didn't think she was ready and I know I wasn't. So we set our sights on this summer and Scarlett had been eagerly awaiting it's arrival ALL year long. I dropped her off on a Sunday. The bus picked her up in front of the Oakland Children's Hospital, which is about 2 hours away from my house. I remember the drive there that day, seemed to take forever. I think I had been in complete denial up to that point.  I had been abnormally calm and walked into the situation thinking I was going to be fine....

Every so often we are blessed with an invitation from the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area to attend a local event where they are providing Make-A-Wish Families the opportunity of a lifetime . . . .yet again. This year we were invited to the Sonoma County Raceway for a day of fun and special treatment at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals. We had no idea what to expect upon arrival even though the race way is 20 minutes from our house. My husband and I had never been to a drag race before, so we were absolutely astonished to turn the corner of sonoma raceway and see the flood of cars, mobile homes, and buses that were there for the race. This apparently was a HUGE event for Sonoma County and we all were suddenly feeling more anticipation as we winded our way to the parking lot. We quickly made our way into the raceway and to the Make-A-Wish hospitality pavilion in the NHRA pro pit. This is where we were treated like royalty with a full course meal, all you can drink sodas and water an...