One Family's Story
The Christmas Family
Brenda Christmas, of Oak Park, was the picture of health. A busy working mom
with 4 kids, her hobbies included sewing and all things creative, from music to
acting to painting. She & husband Bob jogged together daily, and always paid attention to a healthy diet. Then out of the blue, almost two years ago, she was diagnosed with end stage colon cancer. Doctors put her prognosis at less than six months, but she was determined to prove them wrong. Shortly after her diagnosis, Brenda received a Healing Journal from Strike at Cancer and healing artist, Bill Syniar, paid the family regular visits with guitar in hand. Brenda waged a hefty battle, with
multiple surgeries & chemo, but the toll on her body finally proved too great. When Brenda entered home hospice, she made dieing an active process, openly welcoming family, friends, & neighbors to visit and say good bye.. Her mantra: "Find what makes you happy, and do it!" Eldest daughter, DeLana, was her primary caregiver, with help from many friends & family members. Brenda died on June 7, two weeks shy of her 45th birthday. Her courage, warmth, strength and grace were a shining light to all that knew her.
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We love summer. It's the time we get to put the results of our February
fundraiser to work! Oncology social workers at Loyola University Hospital have
recently discovered our Healing Journals, and their patients have responded
enthusiastically. We've made two deliveries to them in recent months.
Strike at Cancer helped Gilda's Club to celebrate Cinco de Mayo again this year, by providing music by popular mariachi vocalist, Jesus Gomez. Club members & staff put together a potluck spread of authentic Mexican dishes, while Healing Artist Jordi Pedrola was on hand to facilitate painting.. Music, laughter, art & dancing were all hallmarks of the day.
Of course, summer means summer camp! TLC Camp, a day camp based in Lombard and managed by volunteers from Lombard Jr. Women's Club, fills the bill for local pediatric cancer patients. We love what they do at TLC. For one thing, they include siblings, not just patients. Camp directors recognize that cancer affects the whole family, so patient campers are invited to bring a sibling. Camp takes place one full week every summer in June, and Strike at Cancer sponsors a day of activity each year. This year's theme was "TLC Camp Goes on Safari" so we provided a day of fun at Brookfield Zoo. TLC is in tune with the special needs of the kids. Camp counselors (often former campers) ratio almost one-to-one with campers. In addition, two full-time nurses accompany campers wherever they go. Things like meds and special dietary needs are well attended, and campers are provided with free lunch each day. TLC celebrated it's 26th year in 2008. Get more info on them at tlccamp.org
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Teen campers hang at Brookfield Zoo. |
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A camp group takes a rest in the Butterfly Garden. |
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| Campers check out newly born piglets in the Children's Zoo. |
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We'll be making another photography trek to Children's Hospital in July to take dress-up photos of the patients there. We recently asked our photographer, Julie, to buy some new dress up-clothes for teens, so they can have cool stuff that appeals to them to dress up too.
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