A few days ago, as I was scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to watch, I came across this movie called The Heart of Christmas. This movie is about a little boy named Dax Locke who was diagnosed with AML M7 leukemia when he was just 15 months old, he underwent numerous rounds of aggressive treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital until the doctors told his parents that there was nothing more they could do and that he only had about 4-6 weeks left.
His parents took him back to his hometown of Washington, Illinois to enjoy what precious time they had left with their son. It soon dawned on them that Dax would not make it to Christmas, which is his favorite time of the year. So his parents decided to bring Christmas to Dax by putting up the tree, decorating the house, and putting up lights outside. Both Dax's neighborhood and the town of Washington quickly caught on and decided that they wanted to help too, so they all decorated their houses and sang Christmas carols so that Dax would be able to have one last Christmas.
As soon as I finished watching this movie, I knew I had to do something so I decided to donate to the foundation that Dax's parents started in his honor, The Dax Foundation, which benefits St. Jude's Children Research Hospital.
Dax's story taught me that there is SO much more to Christmas than just the presents and the break from work and school. Christmas is also about being thankful for what you have, spending time with family and giving back to those who are less fortunate. We need to stop getting so caught up in the presents and start focusing more on what Christmas is all about.
If you would like to learn more, you can do so here:
