I learned this the hard way, because I didn't have much of a story before Ty got sick.  But since my life changed so dramatically overnight and I decided to share it publicly, I have been introduced to thousands of stories.  Strangers share intimate details about their own struggles, and I consider myself very lucky to be so aware.  My eyes are open... my heart is open... most people are good and kind and life is really, really hard sometimes.  As a whole, we need to remember that pain can be so toxic it changes people and hardens them.  I have to remind myself of this every time I want to let my anger take over.  Or when I am easy to pass judgment without much knowledge, sympathy or understanding.  Ty would want us to feel sorry for everyone.  To feel sorry for the person who seems harsh or mean, because maybe there was a life-altering event that made him or her that way.  And to feel sorry for the person...

I have written those words in the sand each day.  It makes me feel so good to remind everyone of his presence.  So much so that I wish I had the foresight to write those words all over the place when Ty was still with us.  Of course, vandalism is not cool… but it would be so nice to know that somewhere hidden in each hospital room it reads “Ty was here.”  Somewhere in every special place we ever visited, like the hotel room in Mexico, we etched it into the tiles or discretely scratched it under the headboard.  A reminder of a little boy who was gone too soon, but left an impact.  There was a perfect quote posted to my Facebook yesterday that read: “There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go." - Frederick William Faber Henley Hazel Romine is a beautiful little girl who is lovingly called “Henny Bee” by her family.  When I saw her for the first time on the ninth floor of ...

Poor Lou.  As anyone can imagine, today was a very hard day for him.  He spent his first Father’s Day without Ty in bed for the majority of the day.  Last night we celebrated Father’s Day by going out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law while my mom and dad babysat all the boys (Gavin and my nephews).  Gavin was so happy all day to be with his cousin, and we all had a great day at the beach.   Dinner was delicious, and we had a lot of fun into the very late hours of the night.  Escaping like that was good for us, but I think it only made the reality of today hit Lou even harder.   Every time I went into the bedroom to check on him he was either sleeping, crying, or looking through the pictures and watching all of his videos of Ty.  I watched some with him, we cried together a bit, and we talked about how it is so hard to look back at all the pain and suffering Ty experienced.  We both agreed that we were blind to how bad T...

Tickets for the Muddy Puddles Mess Fest, August 10 at Camp Kiwi, are now on sale!  You can purchase them at a discount online using the link below, or pay at the door on the day of the event.  http://muddypuddles.eventbrite.com I can't even tell you how excited I am that this event is finally coming to fruition.  It is going to be wild, outrageous and SO MUCH FUN!  Of course, it will be a giant mess fest indeed.  Whipped cream pie tosses, Mud puddle obstacle courses, food fights, splatter paint, giant bubble stations, dirt digs, and a giant fire truck to hose off the kids.  There are also pools, climbing walls, ziplines, batting cages, hay rides, bounce houses and so much more.  Fingers crossed for beautiful weather, but if it rains, who cares - that only means more mud puddles, right? Thanks to our segment on The Doctors , The Muddy Puddles Project is really taking off!  I decided to post five recent photo submissions in honor of High Five ...

Kids are so curious.  They all love Ty so much, and so many children have become really passionate about the cause.  But I am also learning more and more that many kids are confused about what happened to him.  They don't understand how or why he got sick (neither do any of us).  They question where he is now.  They really have such an innocent and true love for Ty that I have come to realize is a testament to the wonderful adults they will become.  Check out these soccer uniforms.  Go Pawling Hurricanes :) I have such guilt because I've been too busy to post in over a week.  It feels like I'm betraying Ty a little when I can't find time to write about him.  I hope he knows that I am thinking of him just the same.  Of course he does, but writing remains an important part of the grieving process and I need to find more time lately.  I've been so quiet this week because the foundation has had a large number of fu...

How much do I love you, Ty? BIG much! How much do you love me? BIG much! Well, I love you big, huge, giant, enormous, Gi-normous, tremendous all the way to infinity MUCH!” Ty had been saying “big much” since he was two years old.  Before he was diagnosed later that year.  He had trouble making the “ch” sound, so it always sounded more like “Big Muh!”  Adorable regardless.  You can click here to see it/hear it for yourself .  This video was recorded post diagnosis, after his speech started to show the effect of the wretched tumor, but it certainly isn't any less adorable.  The same routine of telling one another how much we love them is a little different with Gavin, he has his own thing.  It started with Lou at bedtime. How much do I love you, Gavin? So so very much. How much do you love me? So so very much. Well, I love you so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so very much. Then it becomes a funny competition of who can show th...

My name is Abby and I have been following Ty's story for a while now. I just wanted to let you know how truly inspiring you and your family are. I was blind to the world of childhood cancer until the song "Ronan" came out and I began following Maya's blog, and then came across yours and was astonished to find a story so close to my home town on Long Island. I have become so interested and inspired in this cause. I am a junior occupational therapy student at the University of Scranton, and now aspire to be a pediatric OT, my goal in life is to help kids live the best life possible for them. I have kept Ty and your family in my prayers constantly, and I know that you have received signs from Ty, so I just wanted to let you know I'm pretty sure I got one too! Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting your superhero.  But I want you to know that I was babysitting yesterday (it was an overcast day), and the little girl I was watching ...

Instinctively, most people retreat from threats.  Fortunately, the best among us confront them.  For all those who put their life on the line in defense of freedom.  And for all those who have paid the ultimate price.  We honor your courage and are indebted to your sacrifice.  May we always remember the heavy cost of freedom by never forgetting those who paid for it.   INTO THE BREACH A Memorial Day Tribute This video linked above features my friend, Brad, Christina's husband.  He is a soldier who fought for years in Afghanistan.  He fought for you and me, for Christina's brother Andrew, and for all the others who perished with him on 9/11.  In the video you can see that Brad is wearing his SuperTy bracelet on his wrist and it brought me to tears when I noticed it.  He hasn't taken it off since the day we first met in August 2010. He is a special person and I am so thankful for him and all of the amazing...

“I wanna be remembered as a kid that went down fighting.   That didn’t really lose.” – Zach Sobiech. If there is one thing I am certain of, any child who dies of cancer is remembered as a fighter.   They don’t lose.   Cancer loses.   And we lose - the ones that are left behind.   The cancer dies with their bodies but these beautiful, innocent, most holy of all souls live on in our hearts for an eternity.   Their stories of strength, triumph and tragedy inspire others to live theirs to the fullest.   To hug their children tighter and to cherish more the gifts they are given.   I just pray more people can see the love and beauty that surrounds these kids during their fight instead of turning a blind eye to the immeasurable sadness because it’s too hard to imagine.   Life is sad.   Life is so sad and so hard for so many people.   Bad sh*t happens, sometimes really bad sh*t, and none of us are immune.   It is just s...

Many thanks to our friends at Be Your Own You for developing a unique line of clothing in honor of Ty and all children battling cancer.  They are sold for a limited time only and today is the last day, so please be sure to get yours while you can!  For every item sold, $7 is donated to the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation for childhood cancer research.  Thank you!! Jumping in muddy puddles is the one thing Ty asked to do when he was "all bedda."  For Ty and all the children who don't get to enjoy the childhood they so deserve - be sure to jump in puddles, throw glitter in the air, give piggy back rides to bed and choose finger paints instead of crayons. http://beyourownyou.org

Lou and I returned home from Dallas after an incredible fundraiser late last night.  We had a wonderful weekend, we met some extraordinary people with bigger hearts than you can imagine, and we came home feeling inspired.  Then today happened, and it feels like the high from the pleasant balloon ride we enjoyed over the weekend didn't just pop - it burst into flames.  Everything is okay with the Campbell's but there has been a lot of bad news in general that leaves me in a funk tonight.  Months ago, soon after Ty passed away, I posted this now famous video of Zach Sobiech singing his original song, Clouds.  I fell head over heels in love with him and his family, instantly.  In his video you could watch his mom beam with pride as she whispers along and I felt like we were the same person.  Living in parallel.  Such love, pride, fear and sadness over the loss/pending loss of our sons.  God, there is a spot on t...

Mother's Day was a very difficult day for me.  I spent a lot of time outside, alone with Ty.  It was terribly sad and I never welcomed a Monday more.  I'm glad it's behind me and I managed to get through it without doing anything crazy.  I love the bleeding hearts that Debi bought for me as a gift.  I planted them under Ty's tree and it is so very appropriate (all the red leaves came in and it looks so beautiful - thank you friend). Meet Batman Ty Maybe it is time to seek some kind of sibling therapy for Gavin.  He hasn’t had any crying fits lately, he hasn’t been sad or emotional whatsoever, but some of his behavior has Lou and I getting very sad and emotional for him. It started two nights ago.  About an hour before bedtime, he started carrying around his giant Batman toy.  It is his only toy that is probably most like a real little person.  Now he calls him Batman Ty.  This was a gift to Ty when we first moved to Pawling and...