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Charlie’s Story: Part Two

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Parker School Uniforms

The following is the second of two blogs telling the story of Charlie Dina, the son of Parker’s long-time salesperson, Angela Dina.  For Part One, please link to: http://blog.parkersu.com/2013/05/03/charlies-story-part-one/.  Due to its length, we debated whether or not we should divide the story into three parts.  In the end, we decided we did not want to make everyone wait for the conclusion.  We hope you enjoy reading the rest of the story as much as we have enjoyed telling it.  – The Parker Blog

Americans love to root for the underdog.  We always have.  After all, our country is one of history’s biggest underdog success stories.  Americans also love sports.  Just think about the sports we’ve invented – baseball, basketball and, American football.  It makes sense then that almost all of us love to tell and re-tell our favorite stories of sports underdogs.  No sports fan can watch Hoosiers or The Blind Side without getting a little teary-eyed, especially because they are both based on true stories.  We love knowing that the little guy sometimes really does come out on top.

Charlie Dina is an underdog.  Not in a sporting sense, of course, but in a medical sense.  Doctors never attached a percentage to Charlie’s chances of recovery. In fact, they strongly suggested that his parents, Mike and Angela, NOT Google Neuroblastoma because they did not want the family to get discouraged.  Angela will tell you that she and Mike felt unspeakably overwhelmed as they sat in Texas Children’s Hospital after Charlie’s diagnosis.  Two things made that first night bearable — their faith in God and the support of two of their good friends who managed to sneak past security so they could be with Mike and Angela when they needed them most.  It was then, as Angela looked at their dear friends and felt so grateful for their presence, that the term “Charlie’s Angels” first popped into her head.  Number of Charlie’s Angels: 2.

In the first few days after Charlie’s diagnosis, another good friend of the Dina’s, Courtney Taylor, offered to order rubber arm bands for friends and family to wear in support of Charlie.  She thought that each time the wearer looked at the band, they would be reminded to pray for him.  But what should the band look like?  For input, Angela turned to Charlie.  For whatever reason, Charlie said he wanted the bands to be bright yellow.  What should the band say? The term “Charlie’s Angels” popped into Angela’s head again and she knew it was the right choice.  She also suggested they include a favorite verse of the Dina family: Phillipians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  The verse had taken on a new and powerful meaning since Charlie’s diagnosis.

With those decisions made, Courtney placed the first order for the prayer bands.  The Dinas handed them out to neighbors, friends at Charlie’s and Caroline’s schools, Parker employees, etc.  News of Charlie’s illness began to spread. On October 9, the day of Charlie’s first surgery, people sported Charlie’s Angels t-shirts and armbands all over town.  His preschool also posted “We’re praying for Charlie Dina” on their billboard, prompting people to ask, “who is Charlie Dina?”  Those of us who knew the family were encouraged by the groundswell of support they were receiving.  Number of Charlie’s Angels: 200 and growing fast.

Most people know the saying “truth is stranger than fiction.”  It is at this point that Charlie’s story becomes very strange in a very good way.   On October 20, after some debate, Angela and Mike decided to attend the #18 Texas A&M and #6 LSU football game in College Station.  Charlie was recovering well from his surgery and the Dina’s, both A&M grads, had been looking forward to going to the game for months.  It promised to be a “normal” day in the midst of all the craziness. Even better, with only two losses, A&M was playing surprisingly well despite having a first year coach and a 19-year old, freshman quarterback named Johnny Manziel.   While watching an A&M football game a few weeks before, Charlie had declared Johnny Football his favorite player.  Johnny was also an underdog.  A virtual unknown, he battled two other quarterbacks during spring football to win the starting job.

During the game, Angela just happened to find herself in line at the concession stand next to a neighbor from Houston, Rhonda Overbergen.  Rhonda is a loyal UT Longhorn fan, but that day, she was wearing A&M maroon jeans.  Angela couldn’t help but notice.  When asked about the color choice, Rhonda said that she wouldn’t think to wear the jeans were it not for the fact that her cousin was the A&M quarterback.  Surprised by the connection, Angela mentioned that Johnny Football was Charlie’s favorite player.  After some more discussion, Rhonda left Angela with one of the Charlie’s Angels arm bands in her purse and a promise to give it to Johnny later that evening.  A&M committed five turnovers against LSU and lost the game 25-19.  It would be the Aggiest last loss of the season.  Later that night Angela received a text from Rhonda who had met up with the Manziels after the game and shared Charlie’s story.  She wanted Angela to know that she had given the arm band to Johnny and that the entire Manziel family was committed to praying for Charlie.

One week later the Dinas were surprised to see Johnny wearing Charlie’s arm band during the Auburn game.  The bright yellow color made it hard to miss.  A&M easily won the game 63 to 21.  The following Saturday, #16 A&M faced #18 Mississippi State.  The Dinas were curious if Johnny would still be sporting the arm band.  He was, and the Aggies again won 38 to 13.  By the time A&M played #1 ranked Alabama on November 3, Charlie was finishing a long round of radiation treatments in preparation for his stem cell transplant.  Johnny Football turned in an incredible performance in the Alabama game, accounting for over 350 yards of A&M’s total offense, including two passing touchdowns.  To the euphoria of A&M fans, the Aggies won the game 29 to 24.  A&M finished the season with two more wins and Johnny went into the bowl season as the odds on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

Behind the scenes, Angela had started writing Johnny letters of encouragement and Johnny sent Charlie a signed football and jersey for his 5th birthday.  The Dinas and Manziels had still never spoken in person.  On Friday, November 21, Charlie entered Texas Children’s to begin the grueling stem cell transplant process.  During the days leading up to the Heisman ceremony, Houston sportscaster and A&M graduate, Greg Bailey, got wind of the relationship between Charlie and Johnny and set up an interview with the Dinas at Texas Children’s.  They managed to find a few minutes to talk in the middle of what was turning out to be the absolute low point in Charlie’s treatment.  ABC Channel 13 ran the interview over a series of evenings leading up to the awards ceremony on Saturday, December 8.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhCx_nNQAgE

Fans of college football know that on that night Johnny Football became the first freshman in history to win the Heisman Trophy.  Most of us would assume that the Dinas were glued to the TV, but we would be wrong.  Charlie was so unspeakably sick in the hospital that Johnny’s win was a blip on their radar.  They knew it had happened and were happy for Johnny, but they had bigger worries.  It was the very next day that Charlie’s heart failed and the doctors didn’t know why.  During his post-Heisman interview, Johnny was asked about his Charlie’s Angel’s armband.  His answer spoke volumes about how much Charlie had meant to him during the season.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ5p3A6EmW8

Thanks to the Heisman ceremony, Charlie Dina’s name became known internationally.  Media calls started pouring into Texas Children’s from all over the world.  Requests for the Charlie’s Angels arm bands grew into the thousands.  Angela and Mike believe that all the extra prayers and support were instrumental in Charlie’s miraculous recovery.  Within days, Charlie’s heart returned to normal function, leaving doctors unable to explain what had just happened.  Number of Charlie’s Angels: 7,000+.

On February 24, just over three months after Charlie entered the hospital for his stem cell transplant, Johnny made good on his promise to bring his Heisman to his young friend.  The entire Manziel family visited the Dinas in their home and spent the day finally getting to know each other better.  What started out as a chance meeting at the concession stand had turned into a special bond.  No one can look at the pictures of Johnny and Charlie together without seeing how much they love each other.  The feeling is mutual between all the family members.  Even Johnny’s younger sister, Meri, has helped Charlie’s older sister, Caroline, work through what it means to have a brother who receives so much attention.  We love this picture of Charlie holding his T-ball trophy from last spring alongside Johnny’s Heisman.  Could there be a sweeter picture?

Both families are now committed to raising funding and awareness for Neuroblastoma research.  Angela and Mike are in the final stages of establishing the Charles M. Dina Foundation for that very purpose.  Last month, the foundation received its first donation of $20,000 thanks to a charity golf tournament held at Meri’s school, Allen Academy in Bryan, TX (http://www.allenacademy.org/).  Johnny and Charlie spent the day together happily driving around in a golf cart, just two underdogs enjoying a sunny day together with no cares in the world.

Last Wednesday, the Dinas returned to Texas Children’s to begin two days of scans to detect if there was any cancer left in Charlie’s body.  We are so excited to share with you their wonderful news — Charlie is CANCER FREE!  We can’t think of a better way to end our blog.  Charlie’s story will of course continue.  Every three months for the next year at least the Dinas will make the trip back to the hospital for more follow up scans.  The family will also turn their attention to how best to direct the funds from Charlie’s foundation.  The Parker Blog will keep you all updated as we learn more about how you can contribute to their effort.  For now, if you would like to order a Charlie’s Angels armband, please send your request to cmdfund@gmail.com

In August, Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies will enter the college football season ranked by some as the preseason favorite to win the national championship. Around the same time, Charlie Dina will enter the front door of his school to begin his next adventure – Kindergarten.  After all, sometimes little guys really do come out on top.  We hope you will join us in cheering them both on from the sidelines.  Number of Charlie’s Angels: Only time will tell.

 

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Charlie’s Story: Part One

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Parker School Uniforms

“I am Charlie, a four year old boy living in Houston, Texas. I am really a normal kid who loves video games, super heros, Legos, Star Wars, the Aggies, but most of all, I love spending time doing it all with my family. I had a pretty fun life until May 29, 2012, when it all changed forever. My parents took me in to the ER that day for a tummy ache that hurt very badly. They took a fancy picture of my body called an X-ray to see inside my belly. To their surprise, shock, and sadness, the doctors told them I had a tumor in my tummy and needed more pictures. I ended up riding in an ambulance that day to the main campus of Texas Children’s Hospital where they told my parents I have a yucky thing called CANCER. They used a big word called Neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer that typically starts in the adrenal glands and grows quickly. That seemed so long ago, but I am a fighter. So far I have completed five rounds of chemotherapy, two surgeries, countless scans and other procedures, and I’m not even close to giving up.”  (Excerpt from Charlie Dina’s Caring Bridge page)

So begins the story of Charlie Dina.  Charlie is the son of our long-time Houston salesperson, Angela Dina.  We cannot begin to express the shock and sadness all of us at Parker felt upon hearing the news of Charlie’s illness just as school was letting out last year.  For those of us who had spent time with Charlie in the weeks and months leading up to May, the diagnosis seemed impossible.  In late January 2012, the Parker Blog visited Annunciation Orthodox School here in Houston (http://blog.parkersu.com/2012/02/13/school-lunches-done-right/).  Angela, who manages the AOS account, and Charlie were with us the day we visited.  It took sweet Charlie about 30 seconds to woo the front office ladies at AOS.  By the time the tour began, they were plying the seemingly healthy, very active preschooler with cupcakes and giving him directions to the playground.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Those of us who know Angela love her for her sunny personality and quick sense of humor. Parker meetings and get-togethers have always been a little brighter with Angela in the room. What we couldn’t and wouldn’t know until Charlie became ill was the truly awe-inspiring courage, strength, and faith of Angela, her husband, Mike, daughter, Caroline age 10, and of course, Charlie.  Mike and Angela have spent almost a year now learning how to entrust Charlie’s well-being to the care of others.  Thanks to their unwavering faith in God, coupled with some of the nation’s finest pediatric cancer doctors at Texas Children’s here in Houston, they have made it through the year with joy and an incredible sense of thanksgiving.  Angela will tell you that she has had plenty of days filled with tears and “why me’s.”  At the same time, the Dinas have experienced how giving, how loving, and how graceful people can be.  Angela always gives credit to the doctors at Texas Children’s and their incredible network of supportive friends and family referred to lovingly as “Charlie’s Angels.”

Angela and Mike have kept all the angels updated, good news and bad news, through Caring Bridge and Facebook.  Anytime Charlie took a turn for the worse, they would send out specific prayer requests.  Immediately, Charlie’s Angels would get to work.  Time and again, the doctors were amazed at how quickly the problems would seemingly fix themselves.  Conversely, angels would flood the Dinas with well wishes whenever Charlie received good news.

After Charlie finished his initial chemo treatments and two surgeries, the first of which took 20-hours and required doctors to remove one of his kidneys, he got to return home for a few weeks before the second half of his treatment began.  During those weeks, he endured twelve radiation therapy sessions in preparation for a stem cell transplant.   On a much happier note, he also celebrated his 5th birthday.  The day after Thanksgiving, Charlie returned to Texas Children’s where doctors administered 7-days worth of the most aggressive chemotherapy treatment yet.  It was when Charlie was at his absolute weakest that doctors gave him his new, healthy stem cells and began the wait to see how his body would respond.  The chemo proved almost too strong for Charlie, who experienced cardiac failure on day 15 of the transplant.  As always, Mike and Angela sent out the prayer request and the angels got to work.  Amazingly (or just as the Dina’s expected), Charlie’s heart fully recovered and is now functioning better than before the transplant.  The Dina’s received the best Christmas present possible when Charlie was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve.

Doctors continue to monitor his liver and kidney function very closely, but as of now, 11-months post diagnosis, they are absolutely thrilled with his continued recovery.  Unfortunately, Charlie is not out of the woods yet.  He will be going in this month for new scans to determine if there is any cancer left in his little body.  Even if those scans are clear, Neuroblastoma has a relatively high rate of recurrence.  For now, the Dina’s continue to be grateful for every day with Charlie and Caroline and are focusing on their goal to raise awareness and research funding for this relatively rare cancer.  It is their efforts at raising awareness that will lead us to Part 2 of the story.  For you A&M fans out there (and all fans of college football), the second half of Charlie’s story has an unexpected and quite heart-warming twist.  Part 2 is less about the cancer and more about the special relationships the Dina’s have formed during this challenging year.  And isn’t that how life is?  It is often in our darkest and most hopeless moments that we discover some of our greatest joys.  In the meantime, we’ll leave you with a few more words from Charlie’s Caring Bridge website:

“That sure is a lot for a little guy like me, but I know I can do it. I have friends who love me so much and have been with me every step of this journey. More than anything, my family has GOD at the center of our home, and that makes us know we will prevail. I have a ways to go to beat this thing called cancer, but come the start of kindergarten in 2013, I will be cancer free with God’s help! I can’t wait to get back to living life just being a regular kid. On behalf of all kids with cancer and especially Neuroblastoma, thank you for reading my story. Love, Charlie”

 

 

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Why Uniforms

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

Christian School Products recently published an article by Parker’s President, Troy Pike, in its March 2011 online newsletter.  In the article, Pike outlined the research data showing that adopting a school uniform policy can have a positive impact on student performance in school.  We thought back-to-school was a great time to reprint portions of the article.  After all, it is the time of year when students, parents, and Parker employees are dreaming of polos, khakis and plaids.  What better time to remind our customers and potential customers why it makes so much sense for schools to adopt a school uniform policy?


When the Long Beach, California, public school system implemented a uniform policy for their 60,000 K-8 students in 1996, they were hopeful it might at least slow their worrying increase in school crime.  They could hardly have anticipated what transpired.  When they reviewed the data two years later, they found there had been a staggering 71 percent decrease in overall school crime. In contrast, their high schools, where no uniform policy had been adopted, saw violence increase 28 percent in the same period.  The Long Beach findings have been mirrored in other systems nationwide, and not just in terms of falling crime. Uniform programs improve civility, save families money, and boost self-esteem.  It turns out, clothes mean a lot.

Do kids who wear uniforms behave better? When it comes to the civility-boosting benefits of school uniforms, Long Beach has company. In the fall of 1998, two schools in Albuquerque, New Mexico, adopted a uniform policy of tucked-in polo shirts and khaki pants or skirts. In a study of the results published by Deborah L. Elder in 1999, it was found that in the very first semester the policy was put in place, total disciplinary referrals in the two schools fell by more than 50 percent.

Another study suggests just how profoundly uniforms can influence attitudes and behavior. In 1996, Richard K. Murray conducted a survey of two schools in Charleston County, South Carolina, using the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Comprehensive Assessment of School Environments School Climate Survey. One school adopted uniforms, the other did not. In the one that did, school climate rated higher in 9 out of 10 categories than its peer school.

With results like these, it’s little wonder that mandated school uniform policies have been getting more popular. In fact, the number of schools with uniform policies rose 3 percent in a recent 6-year period. In light of other findings, it’s a wonder they did not rise more.

Do school uniforms help families save money? Aside from their contributions to school environment, school uniform programs provide a practical benefit to families: they save money.  In 1999, the NPD Group conducted a consumer study to determine the cost of a school uniform program. They discovered that families whose children attended “uniform” schools spent an average of $85 less on clothes per year than families whose children did not.

This is not to say that uniforms are “cheap” in and of themselves. Instead, parents save money by not having to invest in expensive, “status symbol” fashions season after season. What’s more, because uniform styles remain consistent over the years, parents often find themselves able to pass down uniforms from one child to the next. (Durability helps with that, too. Unlike most clothing that is designed to last only a season, uniforms are often reinforced at stress points – think knees and seat – to stand up to an active lifestyle.)

In addition, the better uniform companies design their clothes specifically to accommodate what children do best: grow. Uniform features can include generous hems, movable buttons, adjustable waists, and other features to adapt to a changing child.  For all these reasons, families can experience significant dollar savings over time with a uniform program.

Do uniforms bring people together? The story would not be complete without noting some “softer” – but no less important – benefits of a uniform program. For one, parents tend to find they argue less with their children over what to wear (and what not to wear). Schools, too, no longer have to struggle to keep their dress codes a step ahead of endlessly inventive students.

Uniforms also help level the playing field for students in terms of socioeconomic status. Those of lesser means do not feel as conspicuous in their inability to afford the latest fashions; that, in turn, encourages students to judge one another more by character than by logos.  And, finally, uniforms – with their crisp, classic good looks – invariably help instill a sense of pride in school and self.

The author who wrote, “What a strange power there is in clothing” did not have school uniforms in mind. Nevertheless, clearly these garments have the power to exert a positive influence on young people, and impact the way they approach not just their schoolwork, but one another. For that reason alone, while a uniform program may not ultimately be for every school, it is certainly something every school should consider.

Troy Pike, President of Parker School Uniforms

 

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