A 'Little Helper', some tears, a couple of Olympians, and a huge success

My girls figure skate. Two years ago, my oldest was on a theatre on ice team coached by Melissa Wasz. In January of 2016, our team received a notification that our coach’s son was in the hospital, but no one anticipated the journey that would follow. Her son Mason passed away on February 1. Our hearts broke as we watched Melissa, her husband Mike and their older son Max be pillars of strength, while they grieved the loss of a sweet three-year-old boy.

I remember attending the visitation with my young girls, their hearts broken as they passed Mason, and hugging their dear coach not really knowing what to say. Afterward, they were able to spend time with comfort dogs …

The Wasz family wants their “Little Helper” to live on and to continue to help others. His kidneys went to a man in his 40s and saved his life. His tissues were donated to research cures for specific pediatric conditions. Their foundation helps other families in difficult situations. Their 1299 project was on display this weekend.

The Mason Wasz Foundation will be donating 1,299 – the number of days this world had Mason in it – blankets to area hospitals to bring comfort to patients. To date, they have 1,200.

The Mason Wasz Foundation has donated a Cuddle Cot to our local hospital, and in 2019, the Mason Wasz Foundation plans to use their funds to support pet therapy. They saw the comfort the dogs brought during Mason's visitation and funeral, but they also knew how much Mason loved dogs. Melissa said that she knows that this is what Mason would want.

The Wasz family is truly incredible. Their faith and their determination to let Mason’s life touch others is truly beautiful.

Their foundation hosted a skating event as a fundraiser on St. Patrick’s Day which included a competition as well as an exhibition.

So many familiar faces came out for this – Former Chicago Blackhawks player Troy Murray, Olympic Ice Dancer Susie Wynne, Olympian and National Champion Ashley Wagner, Olympian and National Medalist Mirai Nagasu, Senior Men Champion Sean Rabbitt, Disney On Ice skater Kyle Shropshire, Champion Junior Pairs Gold Medalists Laiken Lockley and Keenan Procknow, and so many more. Our local girls also performed a group number.

During the performance a large video screen played an interview with Melissa and Mike, as well as video footage of Mason laughing. That laughter helped to dry away the tears that fell ~ not because his loss is forgotten or hurts any less, but because his legacy is more than those 1,299 days on earth. His legacy is that life is always shorter than we think it is, so we need to make the most of it. His legacy is that laughter and kindness and being helpful is what this life is all about. His legacy is that no matter who you are, how young or how old you are or what you do, your life matters. His legacy is that love triumphs over death. His legacy is love.

Thank you to Melissa, Mike and Max for putting on this event and for sharing Mason and his infectious laughter with all of us.

To donate to The Mason Wasz Foundation or to donate blankets for the 1299 Project, click here. You can also follow them on Facebook.

Chicago Wolves mascot Skates the Gray Wolf

Chicago Blackhawks player Troy Murray and Olympic Ice Dancer Suzie Wynne

Championship Junior Pairs Gold Medalists Laiken Lockley and Keenan Procknow

Championship Junior Pairs Gold Medalists Laiken Lockley and Keenan Procknow

Championship Junior Pairs Gold Medalists Laiken Lockley and Keenan Procknow

Championship Junior Pairs Gold Medalists Laiken Lockley and Keenan Procknow

Championship Junior Pairs Gold Medalists Laiken Lockley and Keenan Procknow

Disney On Ice performer Kyle Shropshire

Disney On Ice performer Kyle Shropshire

Disney On Ice performer Kyle Shropshire

Disney On Ice performer Kyle Shropshire

U.S. Novice Ice Dance Pewter Medalists Elliana and Ethan Pearl

U.S. Novice Ice Dance Pewter Medalists Elliana and Ethan Pearl

Senior Men Champion Sean Rabbitt

Senior Men Champion Sean Rabbitt

Senior Men Champion Sean Rabbitt

2014 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Three-time National Champion Ashley Wagner

2014 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Three-time National Champion Ashley Wagner

2014 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Three-time National Champion Ashley Wagner

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2018 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Seven-time U.S. National Medalist Mirai Nagasu

2014 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Three-time National Champion Ashley Wagner

2014 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Three-time National Champion Ashley Wagner

2014 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Three-time National Champion Ashley Wagner

2014 Olympic Team Event Bronze Medalist and Three-time National Champion Ashley Wagner

Bows ~ everyone together with our local skaters, too!

Friends of Mason skaters

Crystal Ice House Wagon Wheels skaters perform for Mason

The entire arena went dark -- and we lit it up for Mason with our cell phones. The skaters had green light sticks -- Mason's favorite color.

Audience using cell phones to light up the rink for Mason.

End of Watch

Today our community laid to rest McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner. The funeral took place in our local high school -- a gymnasium filled with stoic members of law enforcement letting their human side peek through every so often.

Deputy Keltner was killed in the line of duty last week, much to the shock of our community. A member of the U.S. Marshal's Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, Keltner leaves behind a wife and two children.

Law enforcement is a rather thankless job ... but we are thankful. And we hope that his family knows how thankful we are -- and, even more, we are thankful for everyone who puts their life on the line for the safety of others.

When things like this happen in our community, it brings us together. We are joined together in our grief and bound together by hope.

Our sorrow for the loss of a son, a husband and a father overwhelms us, and begs for answers, yet there are none.  But hope was demonstrated in the outpouring of love, lining our streets and covering our buildings. We hope that his family and his brothers and sisters in law enforcement felt our concern and support as they passed the flags, the oceans of blue, the ribbons tied to light posts and road signs, and the children placing police flags in the piles of snow along the procession route. We grieve with you. We back the blue.

Thank you, Deputy Keltner, for your sacrifice, for your service, for being a role model, and for putting the lives of others before your own. Thank you.

Bryon Secor carried the flag once draped over the casket of his own father, Elmer Secor', U.S. Army sergeant in WWII. He met Ron Leopold, an Austrian/Yugoslavian immigrant, as we waited for the procession to begin. He told me that he knew he was honoring his father by honoring the sacrifice of Deputy Keltner with this flag. This was the first time he'd ever unwrapped the flag since his father's funeral in 1989. Both men said they were grateful to live in this country.

A family of children were sticking these flags in the snow mounds along the route.