Da Georgi

We have had a little scare with Georgia. She was pointing to her shin and telling me ‘ow’ quite consistently for several days. Of course, she always has bruises on her legs because of her daredevil personality, and it’s likely a combination of that and the fact that when she tells me ‘ow’ she gets a kiss. But, because neuroblastoma can metastasize to the bone and show up as bone pain, we called Dr. Cook. Dr. Cook saw her the next day and couldn’t find anything. The x-rays taken that day were clear. We’re booked on Thursday for a bone scan at CHEO, just to make sure everything is truly okay. All prayers and healing thoughts gratefully accepted.

Sydney and Scott are both going gangbusters on fundraising and spreading the word about life with cancer.

Last Thursday, Sydney was the special guest speaker at a gala reception for the James Fund. She was quite nervous, because she knew she’d be speaking to 400 people. She did great, and I think a few tears were shed in response to her true heart and the love she has for her little sister. FYI—standing up at the front of a theatre looking at 400 people is a daunting task—these theatres are quite high and set up so each seat has a great view of the stage and the rest of the room is darkened—it truly is a sea of faces. We were so proud of our little girl.

After the presentation, there was a wonderful reception with fabulous food and a silent auction. Sydney and others circulated through the crowd and sold bracelets. After about 2 hours, they had raised over $2,000 for the James Fund. In total, the S&G bracelets have raised almost $3,400 in 4 months. If you want bracelets, please let me know.

I had the honour of meeting three other neuroblastoma mothers at this event. Pam Birrell lost her son James in 2001. Two other women, one with a son who is clear of disease and one who lost her daughter 7 years ago, both introduced themselves to me. I was so touched by the courage of these women—to come to an event that must surely bring up all the old pain and fears (they could have chosen to just write a cheque), and to do it solely for the benefit of others. Their grace, their kind words to me and my family, and their support, were the highlights of the evening for me.

Thanks to Miranda and Sean. They graciously agreed to take the girls and entertain them in Peterborough while Scott and I saw the movie. After 2 hours, Miranda looked exhausted, but they both stayed and helped us right to the bitter end—at midnight! We couldn’t have done it without you two. Aunt Jennifer & Uncle Scott gave us a very welcome place to stay and rest after the gala—thanks for the hospitality! Thanks as well to the generous donor who paid for our tickets to the event.

Scott has become active with our local chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society. He has a dream of becoming a motivational speaker and I’m thrilled that he’ll be speaking to a group in Ottawa about our experiences as a cancer family.

As for the bracelets, Paula Huck took up a collection from local business in Gananoque to help with bracelet expenses (I don’t take any money from bracelet sales for that). Between Paul & Paula, their daughters Bobbi & Sasha, Howards Marine, Murchie’s Home Improvements and generous donations of embroidery thread from Lori Miller and Angela Robinson, I was able to make almost 300 bracelets (will translate into $900 for the James Fund). Each bracelet made from now on will have two monogrammed beads, a G and an S, to personalize them for Georgia & Sydney.

The next bracelet event is Sam’s Day to benefit the James Fund on June 10th.

Thanks to each of you for your thoughts and prayers, your kind words and thoughtful acts. We can feel the positive energy that surrounds us every day and it helps so much.

Hug someone today.