Tulip Project, Our Home Away From Home
In 2016 when our daughter Adrianna was diagnosed with PPFE (a form of Pulmonary Fibrosis) we were told she was going to need a double lung transplant. We started searching for the best hospital pediatric lung transplant programs and we came across Texas Children's Hospital. After researching our options, we decided to proceed with Texas Children's Pulmonary program and schedule a lung transplant evaluation.
In August of 2016 we drove to Texas for the evaluation. We met the entire transplant team which included Mary Till, the Social Worker. She was the contact that introduced us to Project Joy & Hope among all the other options for lodging since we had to relocate within an hour of the hospital.
After speaking with Dr. Jan Wheeler with Project Joy & Hope, we felt this was the right fit for our family. Knowing we would have our own private place to try and keep the normalcy for our girls was an important part of this process for us.
Once we arrived to our new "home away from home" immediately walking in gave us a sense of peace and comfort. The house was beautiful, spacious and fully furnished from dishes to the necessities of laundry soap which was a huge relief. The peace of knowing we can still have our personal and private space yet still be together as a family and cook and do the everyday normal things together made this journey so much more comforting.
Dr. Wheeler & Shelley Fuller were always there for us for anything we needed. Knowing that if we ever needed anything we could call upon them and they would help the best they could help as a mom knowing even though I didn't have any family here, we had them by our side. This is why we consider them family.
Some of the memories that we'll never forget were Christmas and Mother's Day. During Christmas, they work with companies that adopt families that are staying at Project Joy & Hope. As a parent that has a severely sick child with medical bills stacking up, this took all the stress off our shoulders knowing that our family was taken care of. It was more than we could ever ask for.
On Mother's Day, Project Joy & Hope arranged for a photographer to come out and take pictures of the families as a keepsake. This meant so much to me as a mom knowing we would have this moment to remember.
In September 2017, Adrianna's pager went off and she received her gift of life on September 8th. Jan was there for us and ready to help with our other daughter Gabi. She helped get my husband from the airport and took him to the hospital so he could see Adri before she went in for surgery. She also helped pick my mother up from the airport when plans changed for us (like they often do when you have a sick child). These things may seem small, but they are some of the best and most helpful meaningful things that makes Project Joy & Hope so great! The people behind the scenes makeup this amazing organization.
Project Joy & Hope is such an important organization for families that are looking for a place to call home while they are going through some of the most challenging times of their lives. Times when you feel you have no control or the helplessness you feel because you can't "fix" the illness or the pain your child is going through, just having an affordable place to come home to after a long day of doctor's appointments means so much.
Thank you so much for everything you have done for our family and all the other lives you have helped.
Love,
The Jordison Family