A message from Grampa Jack

Dear Friends Of Amanda,

I was blessed to spend 7 days with my beautiful granddaughter Amanda in California. I returned to Houston on Monday. As you have read in the posts, Amanda slowly is recovering from the surgery.

I had the opportunity to spend time with Amanda, Dan, and Susan before and after the surgery. Every minute spent with my special granddaughter is the best time I could possibly have. Her smile is so captivating, her spirit so dynamic, her blue eyes so full of life.

Thank you for your prayers, messages of hope, and best wishes. You mean so much to Dan, Susan, Amanda, Katie, and the entire Ivancevich and Hermanson families. Real friends and family help all of us through the roughest moments in life. Each and all of you provide a safe harbor for the families.

Susan and Dan represent what parents should be in difficult times: loving, attentive and focused on Amanda without forgetting about 6 year old Katie home in North Carolina. Pegi and I are so proud of Dan and Susan as they care for Amanda every minute as she forges ahead.

I want to take a moment to thank the two Georgia friends who traveled to California before the surgery to donate blood. If there is ever anything I can ever do to repay you, please call and I will do my best for you and yours.

There still is going to be a bumpy recovery road ahead for my Amanda. She is a scrapper and does her best. I talked to Dan today and Amanda is holding her own and slowly making progress. She is agitated by the hospital confines, the awkward dressings and constant but necessary interuptions. Each doctors' visits are postive in her fight to return home as soon as it is safe to leave the UCLA area.

Please continue your prayers and positive thoughts for a baby girl whom I know will grow up to be a beautiful young lady.

Grampa Jack I.