Dear Friends
There is no way to thank you all for supporting us these last 15 months. Ben's service was beautiful today, thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make it happen.
Brighter Horizons - I can't say it enough you ladies are AWESOME!!! The slide show, the poster and the book were just wonderful. Thank you for helping get things done today. I owe you all so much. We are blessed to have Shaun cared for by such wonderful women, who I am proud to also call my friends.
St Andrews faculty and staff, thank you for all your hard work putting everything together for us today. It was so nice having you all there with us. And the PTA was wonderful putting together all that yummy food for after! You ladies work much to hard.
LA State Police, thank you for being there today, Ben would be honored. The slide show was just great! And the fly over was above and beyond. Thank you for all you did for Ben and our family and all you do everyday to keep us safe.
Thank you to all the doctors and nurses, at Children's hospital and Touro Radiation Oncology department. You all have been amazing over the last 15 months. What a blessing it was to be able to battle Ben's cancer close to home where he wanted to be!
Thank you to all of our family and friends who traveled from near and far to be with us. Thank you for the flowers and the cards. And I want to thank everyone who made donations to The Cure Starts Now and I Could Be Your Child in Ben's name - hopefully with more funding and more research soon no other parent will have to hear "your child has cancer and there is nothing we can do!"
And last but not least a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Jacob Taylor, fellow DIPG warrior who traveled down from Cincinnati, OH to be with us. For those of you who could not make it today you missed an amazing speech by a courageous young man. Jacob asked to speak at Ben's service and Big Ben and I were honored by the wonderful speech he gave. He spoke with grace and maturity well beyond his years. For those of you who would like to support this amazing kid, here is his website...http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacobmatthewtaylor
It is now up to US to keep Lil'Ben alive in our hearts and in our actions. And so as a first step in building our new lives our family will be participating in the Second Annual "Hogs for the Cause" this Saturday May 6th! We missed last years event due to our amazing Make A Wish Trip, but we wouldn't miss this year for anything. Hogs for the Cause has fallen in love with Ben and decided to continue to support DIPG warriors and DIPG research as the "cause" - and we are honored. So join us next Saturday out on the Fly by the zoo for a great day of food specifically all things PIG! To find out more about this great event go to www.hogsforthecause.org also you can follow them on facebook! See you there!
Now, what to do with the blog??? Well for now we will continue to keep posting messages now and then to keep you updated with us, with other DIPG warriors, and other events and information in the war on DIPG.
Again THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU we will spend our live trying to pay forward all your support!
Much love
The Sarrat Family
Ben, Erin, Shaun and ^Lil'Ben^(forever 6)
Pirate Ben
Join Pirate Ben's Crew!! Click Here: Visit Team Unite today to see how YOU can help CONQUER CHILDHOOD CANCER!
Ben Sarrat - Pediatric Brain Tumors Wall of Courage
Special thanks to Heide Randall for including Ben in her amazing awarenss campaign! Click on Ben's picture to take you to her site.
22 comments:
Erin and Ben today's service was amazing. We net Jacob afters and he is truly a very special young man. We will continue to follow his journey.
The ceremony was truly touching. Ben has touched a lot of people and made a lot of people realize all that is important in life. Our prayers will continue to be with your family. You are amazing parents!
Marco and Jenny
Ben was an inspiration to us all. I'm upset I didn't attend the ceremony. Sounds like everything turned out as planned. Hope you and your family continue to heal.
You're in my prayers,
Maddie
Erin I will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers. Just know Ben is looking from up above smiling down at you. God bless you and your family.
Please know that your son and your family have touched so many lives - thank you for sharing him with us. Nikki and I were honored to be there today - you are amazing.
As much as I would enjoy all things PIG - I think we'll have to miss this year's event.
Looking forward to seeing you in May at Hawk's Walk.
Peace be with you all.
di
JJ's mom
Ben and his story has touched my life forever. You are an amazing mother and an inspiration to all of us. I will continue to pray for you and your family. Please know that you are always in my thoughts.
Love,
Amy Welch(Xavier '93)
Big Ben and Erin,
I can't tell you how beautiful and appropriate the service was for Lil Ben. I am thankful that we met you and that Lil Ben was so fond of Mitchell. Mitchell will never forget him as he continues to pray for him every night as he is in heaven. We are still here for you and will continue to be here in whatever capacity you need us in. I want to continue to be a part of your lives as long as we are here in Belle Chasse and no matter where we are stationed after 2013 We love you guys and pray that every day gets easier but never forgetful. We love all of you.
Pam, Johnny, Mitchell, Adrianna and Chris Moultrie
Erin and Ben,
Everything today was lovely and we could tell you put so much thought into the details. I especially loved the slide show...it was so kind of you to share your family's special moments with all of us. So many of the photos made me smile and some even made me laugh. Man that boy of yours could dance!! I know it's been said time and again, but what a blessing Ben's time was here on earth.
Please know that we are all here, particularly the parents of SAS kindergarteners, continuing to hold you in our hearts and we are prepared to stand with you to battle the monster that is childhood cancer in Ben’s honor. I do hope you continue your blog to support that cause.
Love, Janel and Jay
Liam, Julia Grace and Chloe’
Erin, Ben, Shaunie and family...you are all amazing! Our thoughts and prayers were with you throughout the day and we know our Pirate Ben had a heroe's send off to heaven!! We are with you forever...Vaya con Dios, Lil Ben!
Hi Erin and Ben, thought a lot about you over the last few days and it seems so hard to find the "right words."Yes i lost my son to cancer too but each child/parent is different. just remember that "lil ben" touched so many hearts and i'm sure that will carry on. much hugs and blessings to all of you,
wendy (mom of an angel)
www.caringbridge.org/visit/timothylynn
Erin and Ben,
Thank you for sharing your beautiful son Ben with us at St. Andrew. He was loved by all the children at SAS and he became their hero. He will live on in each of them. Love and Prayers
Dearest Erin and Ben,
Thank you for sharing Lil Ben's journey with us. With him having his wings, the song “On Eagles Wings” will always bring a picture of Lil Ben to mind.
We had a candle light vigil in your parents' front yard tonight and Steve Lasswell offered the most beautiful prayer that we wish you could have heard.
Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers and we love you very much!
Dave and Ginger
The ceremony on Monday for Ben was beautiful. I am honored to have attended. Thank you so much for sharing your son with us. Thank you so much for updating the blog during these difficult times to keep us informed. I will continue to pray for you and your family.
Dear Ben & Erin,
We are both thankful and blessed that you invited us to be a part of your journey through the blog. Lil Ben and the entire family have touched our lives in a very special way. Grandparent's Pat and Judy o"Brien have been beautiful examples of sheer determination, courage and love. Our hearts go out to all of you as you grieve the loss of your angel,
Debbe & Paul Hobaica
I think of ya'll often. I have for so long. Ya'll have been so strong for so long. I know, as parents you feel you have no choice but to be strong... but it has been so inspiring because I wonder if I could have stayed so together and positive. Ben has touched so many people and I wish he and ya'll had never had to go through this. Saying that though, I just want to say how honored we were to know him. Emily talks about him and still prays for him every night and knows God is taking good care of him. Ya'll will always be in our thoughts and prayers and I pray for a cure! Thank you all again for sharing this journey with everyone.
Thank you, Ben and Erin, for being an inspiration during such a trying time. I have depended on this site for so long for updates on Lil Ben and have been amazed so often at all the events, activities and just organized chaos yall participated in with him. I am sure that through the eyes of a 6 year old boy, life became one big adventure. The celebration of his life, along with your pastor's beautiful sermon at Ben's ceremony is something I will not ever forget. Thank you for having me there. Alex
Erin,
I'm a friend of a friend who finds you as one of the exceptional WARRIOR Mom's who finds the strength from somewhere deep inside. I'm also a mom of two with special needs and find Ben's story moving to say the least. God Bless you and your family during this healing time. Someday you'll see your baby boy again. God Bless!
Erin,
I have been thinking of you and your family often. You're in my prayers daily. Thank you for sharing your wonderful child with the SAS family. We all loved him and learned so much from Ben. Please keep in touch.
Love,
Mrs. Brashier
Holding you close in though and prayer to day. I will never forget your beautiful Ben.
Your family, I will continue to pray for daily! May you feel peace, love, and comfort at this very trying time in life. May God always keep you in the palm of his hand! Thank you for sharing Ben's story! God bless you all=) Stay strong, and know God will always be on your side!
Just wanted to let you know that I am here, praying for your family and all who love your Beautiful Ben.
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