Gratitude from a Mother

I wanted to send this email to say, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Some words that come to mind about the week we just spent at AMTC are:

WOW! WOW! WOW!
AWESOME!
GREAT WORKSHOPS!
EASY REGISTRATION!
FRIENDLY AMTC EMPLOYEES!
FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT!
INFORMATION OVERLOAD!!!!!
GREAT EXPOSURE FOR NEW TALENT!
WONDERFUL AMTC DIRECTOR!

I know that each and everyone of you, plus others I am sure, put in a GREAT amount of work to make this week possible. It was like a dream come true for me to watch my son flourish. For a teen of 13, he has had to endure watching his mom go through two rounds of cancer. The first in Dec. 1998 when I almost lost my life on the operating table. Then again in Sept. 2006. when four tumors appeared in my abdomen and I had to leave him and his brother for half the month to travel to Memorial Sloane Kettering in NY to have surgery. Although in Sept. 2006, I was declared cancer free, the surgeon fully expects to see me again within ten years for new ones, but only God truly knows. I also had to have surgery again in May 2007 for what they thought was a hernia, but was only scar tissue. During that follow up they found a tumor on my pituitary gland. My husband and I traveled to Vanderbilt and I had “brain” surgery to remove the macro adenoma and once again left him at home. Within 13 months, he watched his mom have 3 surgeries. I know that others have been through worse and I praise God that He brought me through all these difficulties. My faith has grown by leaps and bounds. I also thank Him and you for allowing me to watch my son perform on stage. AMTC has given him more self confidence and an even bigger desire to follow his dreams of acting. Now only God knows where he will go from here. I am glad that we have AMTC to help guide our steps and give us advice on how to proceed from here.

YOU ALL ARE THE BEST!
GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU IN A SPECIAL WAY TODAY SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW IT CAN ONLY COME FROM HIM!

Love,
Hope Schaftlein
mother of Zach Schaftlein – #775