Kaden’s Story & How It Will Help You

Here’s a little Thanksgiving message that I’m hoping will not only inspire you, but will lead to much bigger things in your business.

I mentioned a few days ago that my wife, Susie, and I are taking my 8 1/2 year-old son, Kaden, to the Cleveland Clinic this coming Monday for 3-5 days of testing for a seizure condition.

A couple of weeks following his 1st birthday party in May of 2004, we noticed that he was making these weird grunting sounds from time to time.

We actually laughed because we thought he was just trying to “drop a deuce”, and didn’t think much about it.

The Call That Changed Our Lives Forever…

One night, I was at our local Little League, keeping the book in the tower for the game following ours, and I got a phone call…

Susie: “You know that grunting thing Kaden’s been doing? Well, you need to get home. There’s something wrong with him.”

Obviously, I said, “guys, I gotta go”… and I was outta there.

Ten minutes later, we’re in our living room, and Kaden’s sitting on my lap.

Me: “What’s he been doing?”

Susie: “Just watch.”

Within a couple minutes, it happened…

He looked at me with a strange stare, like he was looking straight through me, he stuck his thumb in his mouth, and I could feel his entire body tighten up, as his arms and hands began to shake uncontrollably for about 20-30 seconds straight… all while making this un-nerving grunting sound.

Once the seizure finally subsided, his left eye began this weird twitching thing, he took a deep breath, and rolled over in my arms like he wanted to go to sleep.

He was exhausted.

I stood up with him in my arms…

Me: “What the heck is going on? We gotta get him to a hospital right now.”

And we were gone!

Anyway… I could go on and on about everything that’s transpired since then, but to save you time, and to practice my marketing skills, I’m going to put them in bullet points, instead… LOL…

* he had several seizures at hospital #1 that night
* he had several more in the ambulance to hospital #2
* it took 3 of us to hold him down to get the IV in
* it took weeks to get them under control with meds
* I did research and found dozens of kids who had the same thing happen to them after their 1-year immunizations
* medical community will never admit there’s a correlation
* yet, docs are dumbfounded as to the cause
* we were told there’s an 80% chance he’ll stop having them by age 8
* he’s been on 4 or 5 different meds over the past 7 1/2 years
* he started having breathing problems from one med
* doctor said there’s no correlation… I found proof online within 1 hour
* doc took him off that medication after admitting she was wrong
* his seizures are under control for 6-12 months, then come back
* seizures usually occur at night when he’s asleep
* we keep our doors open to listen to him
* during doc visits, they’ve often asked… “what do you want to do?”
* we get frustrated… “you tell us… you’re the doctor!”
* FYI… we know the docs care, it just gets frustrating when they’re lost like we are
* we’re also pursuing some holistic treatments
* and on and on it goes…

Keeping things in perspective…

I’ll never forget how we were in a waiting room the next day or two, waiting for Kaden to have some special testing.

He was sitting on my lap, he had about 50 wires glued to his head, and all I saw around me were kids who were worse off than he was (although we didn’t know that at the time) being pulled in wagons around the halls.

In my own way… I lost it for a minute or two. I cried a little bit, not knowing if we were dealing with a tumor, or what (there was none, thank God).

But you know what?…

Seeing those kids, who were suffering from cancer and other conditions worse than epilepsy, during our experience at that children’s hospital, has always allowed us to keep things in proper perspective.

Also know that my wife and I have faith in God that Kaden is going to pull through all of this, and we remain optimistic through it all.

But the BEST thing of all that’s come from all this is…

Kaden is a HAPPY KID… and has never once complained about his seizures, having to take the 1000mg/day of meds, or shied away from any activity whatsoever.

In fact, while coaching him in pee-wee baseball, he’d start having a seizure running around the bases, and I would be there to kind of shield him from view of those at the field… yet, he would go on playing like nothing ever happened.

Usually, with a smile on his face.

That’s what leads me to…

Why Kaden Inspires Me

Obviously, by now, you can see WHY Kaden is an inspiration to me…

He’s kept a smile on his face through all the ups and downs of a very difficult medical condition, and has refused to allow it to affect his attitude or outlook on life.

He’s shown me more than anyone else my entire life that a smile and some laughter are all it takes to help you forget whatever problems you are having in your life… at least for a little while.

In fact, it’s had a dramatic affect on my relationship with my youngest son, Kellen…

Me: “What’s the one thing you can always do if you want to be happy and feel better about things?”

Kellen: “Smile…” (as he immediately smiles)

Me: “Annnnnnnd….”

Kellen: “Laugh!” (as he immediately starts laughing)

If you don’t have kids – and I’m not talking about the 4-legged furry kinds – I’m here to tell you RIGHT NOW…

There’s nothing in the world that fills your heart more than to know your kids are happy.

And I have to admit, while I feel that I did my best with my two oldest boys, Korbin and Kurtis (20 & 18, now), I always tell them that they were my guinea pigs… the ones I learned how to be a parent with, and maybe I should have taught them some of the same things I now teach Kaden and Kellen… but I’m so grateful for the men they’re turning into, regardless.

(Besides… I taught them all about laughter through Jim Carrey movies, like Dumb & Dumber… but I digress)…

So what does this have to do with you?

How Kaden’s Story Will Help YOU

First of all… I’m not going to ask for any type of donations from you. Our health insurance is decent, and our trip to Cleveland is covered entirely by that insurance, minus gas/food/lodging for a few days (no biggie).

Instead, I wanted to point out that while I’m away, I will actually be documenting how I’m able to attract JV partners EVEN while I’m traveling 5 hours away for my son’s treatment.

NOTE: I will most definitely be there for my son a TON during this trip, but there’s definitely a lot of down time. We have free Wi-Fi in his room, as well as where we’ll be staying… and my wife is AWESOME about us working together on everything in our lives. In other words, she’s cool with me taking time to get some work done. In fact, two of my marketing buddies, Jason Drohn and Ryan Moran will be visiting us while we’re in Cleveland, and I’m sure we’ll talk a little biz while they’re there.

Kaden inspires me so much, and I want to pay it forward to YOU by doing my best to inspire you to stop making excuses, and do some of the things that I’ll share during my trip… to bring on new affiliates into your business, motivate the affiliates you already have, or simply to KEEP YOUR HEAD up… and SMILE… through difficult times.

And that all starts right now…

STEP #1: Stay tuned to this blog – and my emails – during our trip.

Just as I’m always looking for lessons to teach my kids, I’m similarly always on the lookout for tips that I can share with you guys, and my intention is to make lemonade out of lemons by using our trip as a way to inspire you in whatever way possible.

STEP #2: Follow this “case study”, my client’s Clickbank launch…

Behind-the-Scenes of a Clickbank Launch (Sign Up Here)

I’ll be attracting JV partners for this launch, and make sure you observe the “JV attraction funnel” we are using for the launch, as well… and implement these tactics within your own JV attraction strategy.

I’ll also be helping those with high-converting webinars get JVs lined up while I’m gone, and I’ll share some ideas of what works for me.

STEP #3: Check out this blog post from a while back…

JV Partners & Kids (How To Motivate Them Both!)

This is where I share a 4:17 video clip from my “JV Attraction Formula” Private Coaching Program… which shows you how motivating your affiliates and JV partners can be as simple as treating them like they are your own KIDS.

I thought… since today’s post is about how one of my kids inspires me (each of my 4 boys do in many ways), this other one makes perfect sense to share with you, as well.

One Last Thank You…

Finally, I just want to say THANKS TO YOU, for…

* reading this LOONNNGGG post
* being one of my blog readers/subscribers
* believing in me enough to spend your time with me
* praying for my son
* paying this forward to others… do something to inspire OTHERS!

… and I want to thank the rest of my family and friends for always being there for me through thick and thin.

Each person in my life means the world to me, and let it be known that each of my 4 boys inspire me to no end, but I wanted to point out specifically how Kaden inspires me, since we’re taking our little trip at this time of year, and it’s foremost on my mind.

2 Prayer Requests: Please pray for Kaden to stay strong throughout this journey he’s on, and through God’s grace, he’ll eventually be seizure-FREE, without medications. But also, please pray for my friend, Joe Duncan, and his wife and kids… as he ironically suffered a seizure this past September, and is now recovering from back-to-back brain surgeries to remove a tumor (good prognosis).

His situation has actually helped inspire me to write this LONG blog post (thanks, again, for reading), but more than anything, his wife, Jenn’s inspirational posts, updating their situation are nothing short of amazing examples of faith and inspiration. I actually encouraged her to start a blog. Heck of a writer. I encourage you to check out Joe’s progress (and her posts) here, and please offer up your prayers. By the way… they have the cutest kids in the world!

FINAL TIP: In addition to your friends and family, do whatever you can TODAY to show your affiliates, JV partners, business partners, clients, and everyone else in your “business life” how much you appreciate them, and they will continue to rely on you for many years to come (they just want to know you’ve got their back)!

Sincerest Thanks,

Andy Hussong
The Affiliate Management Insider (and turkey eater)
http://www.AffiliateManagementInsider.com