A Word from National Log A Load® Chairwoman, Lisa Medici
As we shovel out of winter into spring, we see new beginnings and blessings of new growth blooming all around us!
I am blessed because my family is healthy, happy, and strong, and I am sure that Rob and Lori DuPriest feel the same way now about their twin daughters, Katy and Paige. I invited the DuPriest Family to join me for the Associated California Loggers Annual Meeting and auction dinner held on January 11, 2011 in Reno, Nevada. Katy and Paige, now 8, and their siblings Brooke 13 and Alexis 9, along with their father, were able to attend dinner that evening.
Lori never thought she would conceive, so the couple adopted Brooke and Alexis. Not so long after the adoption, Lori and Rob were thrilled to find out that Lori was pregnant with twins! Despite an 80% chance of losing the twins, Katy and Paige were born pre-mature at 28 weeks’ gestation.
Katy was born at 1 pound, 15 ounces. Immediately after birth doctors inserted a titanium clip to close the valve in her heart. She also suffered from a brain bleed and faced cerebral palsy, which fortunately resolved on its own. It took over a year for Katy to recover.
Paige was the smaller of the two, born at 1 pound, 4 ounces. She had several infections during her stay at Renown Children’s Hospital, in Reno, Nevada, which included five ear surgeries. Paige did not initially have the stamina to complete her feeds, and couldn’t gain the weight she needed. Slowly and steadily, however, the twins began to conquer their early setbacks.
These twins are identical in appearance, but they have their own personalities. At the Associated California Loggers’ annual Log A Load auction, three bikes were donated to raise money for Log A Load For Kids®. Two ACL members bought two of the bikes, brought them over to the twins with tears in their eyes, and donated the bikes to the girls. The girls were so excited they gave the men a hug. It was all these big burly guys could handle . . . you could see it in their faces. Those girls were so excited they got right on the bikes with their pretty little dresses!
One more bike was on the auction block. Another ACL member thought that it would be perfect for the twins’ sister Alexis, so with tears in his eyes he gave it to Alexis. When Rob and the family went to the podium to thank the association and their members for all their hard work and generous donations, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. He expressed, for Lori and his family: “without organizations like Log A Load For Kids, our twins would have probably not have had the advanced equipment and exceptional care that they received.”
I know I had an edge with those twin girls there that night. They helped us raise $8,500 for Log A Load For Kids®. It’s especially times like this that I am very proud of what I do for these families. When my term as National Chair is over, I will continue to be the Chair for California as long as I can.
Here is wishing you a prosperous and safe logging season. Lisa Medici, National & California Chair Log A Load For Kids®