From
Our President, Jill Cox Have you ever had one of “those” days? By “those” days, I don’t
mean the type of day where everything goes wrong and you wish you
could just go to bed and start the whole day over. No, the type of day
I mean is a day where everything seems to just fall in place. Well,
today was, for me, one of those special days. Yvonne Glenn and I got the opportunity to go and visit a special girl named
Avery. Avery is 5 years
old and has one little sister that is 2 and 2 older sisters that are
currently in school. Avery is a happy girl that is looking forward to
starting kindergarten this fall.
Yvonne and I took some time to visit with Avery’s mom Maya
and discuss with her the challenges and struggles that Avery has faced
this past year and a half while she has battled the terrible disease
of leukemia. Maya told us of how a year and a half ago her daughter was having problems
walking and suddenly got a terrible fever that lasted and lasted.
After three days of a terrible fever, she took Avery to the doctor and
was soon told that her little girl was facing the challenge of
leukemia. Over the past year, Avery has continued to have chemotherapy
and steroid treatments. This has meant that she has lost her beautiful
blonde curly hair twice. While we were there, she was happy, full of
life and very shy to say the least. I asked her if it was hard to deal
with having leukemia and she just smiled and said no. We talked about
her monthly trips to Primary Children’s Medical Center where she
goes to receive treatment. Her
mother mentioned to us that they are very kind with her daughter and
have helped in her recovery process. I mentioned to Avery that I was with the Utah Quilt Guild. I told her of the
service that we are trying to give children that have cancer and I
gave her one of the quilts that have been donated. She immediately
wrapped herself up and told me how soft it felt. I told her we wanted
this quilt to be a comfort to her and that if she wanted she could
even take it with her when she had chemo treatments to help comfort
her. Her mother mentioned
that Avery has one year of chemo left and then they will see how she
does. She appeared to be doing very well on this particular day, but
Maya told us that they still have set backs now and then that are hard
to face. The doctors are
optimistic and give her a 90% chance of recovery. Gracie is Avery’s younger sister and is full of more energy than I ever
imagined a child could have. Her smile never ended and her love for
her sister was very evident. We talked about how Gracie is probably a
big help in lifting her sister’s spirits during the hard times that
they sometimes face. She told me she would help her sister take care
of her quilt. As we got ready to leave Avery and Gracie both gave
Yvonne and I a hug. Avery thanked us for the quilt and grabbed her
pillow and snuggled up to watch “The Little Mermaid”. I am very excited about the service opportunity that we have to help
children that are facing cancer. After talking with Maya and Avery I
learned what an experience this has been for their family. Maya was so
grateful for the quilt and the love that went into making it. If you
have not done so yet, please take the time to make a quilt for a child
like Avery. There are so many out there that are just waiting to be
comforted by a quilt. Utah Quilt Guild Membership Privacy Policy Chapter Charters:
|
