Welcome to St. Louis Wrenn Parris, and Golf Tournament Recap

(This post was written by Lisa Macon)

The past week has been an emotional roller coaster for the Parris family. I'm sorry that I haven't posted more regular updates. I feel as if I'm always waiting for good news, and by the time there is more news, good or bad, the old news seems really old. But I hound Nicole and Jason for news constantly, so that I can pass it along, and I do want to share the details.

Here is the sequence of recent events:

Preceding weeks: Wrenn's breathing began to deteriorate slowly. At one point she'd been on 7 liters and about 78% oxygen, but her need for oxygen began to increase to the point where she was back up to 8 liters at 99 percent.

Saturday July 17: Wrenn's Golf Tournament was held at North Shore Golf Club in Orlando, FL. It was a resounding success and some pictures are displayed at the end of this post. Over $10,500 was raised to help pay for Wrenn-related expenses.

Sunday, July 18: Wrenn's breathing deteriorated to the point where she could no longer breathe without the help of a ventilator. On this sad and difficult day, Wrenn was sedated and strapped down as the breathing tube was inserted down her throat. No longer can her parents hold her or see her smile. On the plus side, her color is much better and finally her poor little lungs can rest and let the ventilator do the work for her. Here is a picture of Wrenn, very different from the ones you've seen posted on this blog up until this point.


Tuesday, July 20: The St. Louis Children's Hospital Lung Transplant team approved Wrenn for evaluation. Wrenn's Lear jet was scheduled to leave Thursday morning. Her parents quickly threw their necessary belongings together and planned to leave as soon as they saw her in the morning to say goodbye. Here are some photos of the card the medical team at Winnie Palmer Hospital lovingly made for Wrenn. We are pretty sure just about every hospital employee signed it!


Thursday, July 22: Nicole, Jason and Tanner left in the morning for the 16+ hour car ride from Orlando to St. Louis. Wrenn's jet took off in the early afternoon. The Parris family stopped around midnight at a hotel. Here is Tanner and Buzz watching Toy Story in the car. (Tanner, by the way, was an excellent traveler!)



Friday, July 23 (Today): Jason, Nicole and Tanner arrived in St. Louis at about 1pm. They are currently meeting back up with Wrenn and, I'm sure, getting to know doctors and medical staff at the new hospital, as I wait anxiously for news.

Please stay tuned via the Facebook page (link to the right). I will try to post regular blogs every couple of days with details, but breaking news is easy to put up quickly on Facebook, anytime, from wherever I may be.

"I met my husband 17 years ago. We have played together in many a charity golf tournament. Never in a million years did we think we would be on the receiving end of one." -- Nicole Parris

It is easy during trying times like these to feel nothing but despair. But I don't. So many people are helping this incredible baby - it's enough to restore anyone's faith in the kindness of their fellow human beings! At Wrenn's Golf Tournament on July 17, nearly 30 teams of golfers came out to play in support of Wrenn. 22 local business sponsored holes on the course, and over $7000 worth of goods and services were donated for raffle prizes. Jason and Nicole both gave emotional speeches of thanks to the golfers at the luncheon/raffle after the tournament. Here are just a few snapshots of this wonderful, inspirational day.

The players enjoy lunch, donated by Nature's Table, following the tournament. In the background, you can see some of the many prizes that would soon be awarded:


Jason played in the tournament with his many, many friends. Here he is with some of them (Bob and Carey, plus Tanner):


Another team of golfers (Dean, Greg, Joe and Dave):


The Red Bull team, a big donation giver for the day:


And yet another team. I don't know who that second guy on the right is, but he sure is cute! (Just kidding. It's my husband Brian with his teammates Mark, Mike and Rob.)


Marshall English customized a "Wrenn" painting of a hole at North Shore during the raffle drawing. Please see his website (http://marshallenglish.com) to purchase one of these gorgeous works of art! Remember that a portion of all proceeds provides assistance to Wrenn's family.


Jason and Manny, who I was told "gives Jason and the other guys my money every week!"


My kids and I working the raffle ticket sales as final team scores are posted in the background:


There are many more pictures from this wonderful day, and I will sprinkle others in the posts in upcoming weeks. For now, I would like to send out a HUGE THANK YOU once again on behalf of the Parris family to Lee Siske who organized the tournament and to everyone else who helped in any way big or small. A charity golf tournament is a great way to raise funds but even by usual standards, this tournament was a huge success, and that is no surprise to me. Wrenn is a very special baby and she and her parents are well loved in our community. While it saddens us that the tournament took place on the last day Wrenn breathed without a ventilator, it was a very special day and the proceeds will help her parents make it through the next few months.

That being said, the road ahead is still long for the Parris family, and even this great fundraiser won't support them throughout the entire journey. Please pass on word about Wrenn to everyone you know so that they can help in whatever way they can. Thanks for reading and for keeping Wrenn in your thoughts and prayers.

"I would like to tell you a little about Wrenn. She is a very special girl. She has never known any life other than the one she has lived in the hospital, but she smiles at us all day, every day." -- Nicole Parris