heart warming

[briannell]

'Bless Your Hearts For Taking Care Of Us'

August 3, 2005

By John Sharify




PUYALLUP - It must be a bad day for Britt Badham. Usually he's joking and laughing. Not today.

"I have a headache, " says Britt, who just had his 12th brain surgery.

But today he musters the energy to say thanks to KOMO 4 viewers.

"Bless your hearts for taking care of us", says Britt.

Clearly the Badhams have a lot of friends. Friends and strangers have been buying bracelets from this Puyallup family that's been dealing with a double dose of health problems. Daughter MacKenzie has leukemia. She's lost her hair from the chemotherapy. It's growing back though!

"I want to have the hair back long again because I get jealous of watching my friend Hanah and my cousin Alex doing their hair. I say: 'C'mon isn't there a better place to do this?' " Mackenzie giggles.

Dad lost his hair too. He moves his head from side to side and jokes, "I remember the days when I could just do this and my hair would actually move," Britt Badham says.

See what I mean about his sense of humor. Donations from bracelets, which go for $5 a piece, have bought Britt freedom.

Now he can go outside for the first time in a long time.

Britt is in a wheelchair and couldn't get out of the house. His room is in the basement. But now, with the money from the bracelets, the family was able to build a walkway. So Britt gets to watch his son Nathan ride a bicycle. He can breath fresh air.

"It's relief," says Britt.

If you'd like to help the Badhams by purchasing a bracelet You can e-mail them at badhambands@aol.com