creating hope...

i was really honored to be asked to contribute to this...and i hope you'll all follow this link and donate to this wonderful cause.

ive lost two people close to me from cancer, lou, one of my craft girlfriends. she died at 36 from breast cancer, leaving a devoted hubby and 3 kids, 8, 4 and 1. She'd fought the cancer for 4 years but in the end it was just too aggressive.

and Joycey who was like another grandma to my kids. she lived nextdoor, and was always available to help if i needed it when the girls were little. they loved playing paddocks, uno with her and pulling out her enormous frog collection...always a laugh and something nice in the cake tin. all joyce ever wanted was grandkids of her own but she died 5 months before her gd was born and 12mths after being diagnosed with lung cancer. her beloved hubby barry, nursed her till the end and moved away a few short weeks after she died.

this week has been really crappy... which is why i thought it might be therapeutic to make my tag.

a work collegue for over 20 yrs has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer while her hubby has been fighting melanoma for the past year.

a work collegue of my hubbys died after a long battle with bowel cancer...


and beautiful, fun filled nic died at 39 from a heart attack leaving behind her treasured 5 yr old girl. nic was joyceys daughter, so full of life and a real giver like her mum.
on sunday nights when my girls were little, they used to get into their jammies and go into joyces and they would get funky make up and hair done. joycies girls would pay them 50c for neck massages and play games with them. im sure it was the highlight of all their weeks.
the funeral yesterday was ofcourse miserable and i wondered just how much heartache can a family cope with. to lose half your family in the space of 5 years, unfathomable, but, they have to keep going for the little one...

so my tag is dedicated to strength....

strength for those who are sick, that they can fight their illness by whatever means possible. that they have the strength to tell their dr that they want a second opinion or better treatment and strength to say i've had enough and to die with dignity.

strength for the carers like Baz who give their all and sacrifice their own health and wellbeing because thats what you do for someone you love who is sick.
Strength for the caring medical profession who have to deal pain and suffering as an every day part of their jobs.

and finally strength for those left behind to deal with the trauma and aftermath of losing someone you love, especially when children are involved.

this tag is little approx 2", was smaller but it grew. i needlefelted various scraps of lace, tulle and doilies. then painted some fused bubble wrap [future post] and stuck some dictionary words on. the string looked a bit , well, like string color so i painted it white and added some gold threads to match the lace. the pic is very dark , its all just creams with a little bit of gold ....




More info here.....






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