Wow!

I'm not sure where to even start. I guess I should tell my side of what happened Friday night and then I will go into my emotions.
We were asked by Greg and Stephanie if we would go to Snowbird (ski resort) with them for dinner and to spend the night up there. Of course as they are really good friends, we agreed. They told us they would pick us up at 5:30. Instead of them showing up, a limo driver picked us up. We immediatedely started trying to call them and figure out what was going on. We didn't get a response other than a text from Greg who didn't say anything about what was going on. The driver told us we were going to La Caille (the nicest restaurant in Utah!) to pick them up and then go to Snowbird. We were wondering why we would be picking them up and not eating there. I thought maybe they were getting food to go and we'd eat in the limo or something. I was clueless. So, we pulled into La Caille and went to the Green room to pick them up. He stopped the limo and got out and then opened our door. We started seeing some familiar faces and I immediately saw two cameras in front and one to the side. Justin voiced for me and said, "What is going on?" We looked completely dumbfounded. They took us up the stairs and into the first little sign in room. I saw Stephanie and Michelle sitting behind a table and I saw my parents and then I started really looking at stuff and saw my name everywhere! I started reading the paper on the table and it said benefit and silent auction for Michelle Bancroft. I looked at Justin as it dawned on me and started crying! I lost it! I think everyone in that little room lost it! My mom pinned some flowers on me and my dad warned me that everyone was waiting for me in the next room! I said "That's a lot of pressure!"
We walked in together and all I saw was lights from all the camera flashes! I felt like a movie star for a minute! I started crying again and got very emotional. I didn't quite know what to do other than start hugging everyone. I saw my brother and sister and spouses first and went to them. Then Justin's brothers and hugged them. And I just kept hugging for probably a good while. I had no concept of time at this point. I was so shocked! I could not believe how many people were there for me! I was trying to figure out how they got a hold of so many people from so many different parts of our lives! It was amazing to say the least! They even got a hold of my favorite nurse in the Head and Neck Oncology and she came! My doctor had committed to coming too, but wasn't able to make it last minute. What doctor and nurse would ever do something like this for a patient? They both even helped get this whole thing going and were a part of this all along. Wow!
I had such an outstanding time being with all of my family, friends, and neighbors! It truly opened my eyes as to how many people really care about me. I know there was a lot that couldn't make it that wanted to and there are those that didn't even find out about this.
I am truly still in shock over this whole thing. There are so many wonder ful people who donated items to be auctioned off and those who supported and bought the items. I didn't dare take a look at any of the stuff up for auction. I didn't want to know who was bidding for what and for how much, but found out later that they only wrote down a number not a name.
In this economic hard time, I can't believe how much money was raised in my behalf! As of next week, my medical bills are paid off!!!!!!! What a stress off our backs. Every single day we get a bill or a statement in the mail from the hospital or different departments. I am crying now thinking about how good it feels to know that those bills are paid for!
What an amazing night! Towards the end, Greg had asked if we both wanted to say something. We both agreed. Justin did a terrific job and was so sweet! I started talking and all I did was blubber and cry. It showed how emotional I was and how touched was by everything everyone had done for us! This was the first time since my big surgery that I have spoken in front of anyone, let alone a crowd close to 100! I didn't feel obligated to do it though, I felt so grateful that everyone was there for me. How lucky can a girl get?
They even sent us to the Grand America in the Executive Suite for the night! The room was huge and beautiful! It cost $3 for a snickers bar! I'll tell ya, we tried to sleep, but I was so full of excitement from the night that everytime I closed my eyes, I couldn't turn my mind off. I still can't believe how many people knew about this and we didn't even have a single clue hinting toward this!
Some of the stories are now starting to get to this about how this all came about. They blame Justin for getting their minds going about trying to raise funds for me. Justin had thought about making and selling t-shirts for the BYU/Utah football game to get some money to help with medical bills. It ended up being a risk we couldn't take financially to get the t-shirts made in the first place and not being sure if they'd sell.
This has been in the works for the last 4-6 months! There has been so many people involved and committees made and nights of sleep lost and so much time put toward this. It is hard to know how to say thank you. They all claim that the Lord had his hand in this as they had so many roadblocks and then the way would be paved.
They put together a foundation in my name and a website where people can sign a guestbook and donate. The website is
http://www.bancroftbenefit.myevent.com/

This has just been so overwhelmingly amazing! I am just so grateful!