Thank You.

For the two years Emmy was in treatment, a community formed around this family and showed up, again and again, in ways no one could have expected.

People organized. C&C Auto and Tu Casa Restaurant put together a benefit night when the bills were just beginning. A fundraiser on YouCaring drew contributions from strangers. Someone cut her hair to donate it to a child who would lose theirs. Someone else grew a beard so he could shave it off for a cause. A grandmother baked cookies in volumes that could only be called an army. People mailed Kindle readers and Halloween costumes, anything to keep a toddler distracted through another hospital day. Volunteers arrived at Christmas with armloads of toys. Family members traveled hundreds of miles and gave weeks at a stretch. Christopher's Haven in Boston made the proton therapy months livable. Brent's Place in Denver became a base of operations for the long haul. The Vail Valley Charitable Fund named the family a grant recipient. And every summer at Campout for the Cause, people made prayer flags for Emmy and approached Mike and Aja as strangers who, somehow, weren't.

"I think it changed the feeling of the show with people making prayer flags and approaching myself or my wife or my mom. It's a completely different vibe. You're creating this community on site, this intentional community. They're not only down for a good time, they're down for a good cause." Mike Welle

To everyone named here, and the many who aren't: thank you. You showed up with love and support that changed our understanding of community forever. We carry what you gave us, and it is a huge part of why Emmy's Friends exists. This is only the beginning of a thank-you we will never quite finish saying.