It’s been a month of crafting stories and posts to share during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I poured my heart and soul into every one. Some were long. Some were short. Some came easily, while others took hours and plenty of tears to write. The post I wrote about my dear friend and Art Therapist, Tracy Councill (Day 18), took me five hours. There were tears and deep thoughts about her life and the thousands of children and families she touched through art—helping chase a

On this second-to-last day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, I want to shine the light on the people who so often stand just outside of it: The caregivers. Of course, my experience comes from childhood cancer. For years, Bill and I cared for Ryan while also trying our best to make sure Olivia had the childhood she deserved. A definite balancing act, with more balls in the air (and spinning plates) than we could count! But caregiving certainly doesn’t belong only to the can

I decided to read a favorite chapter from The Focused Fight - Chats from the Other Side of the Bed (Chapter 15 - Seeds of Advocacy). It’s become a fan favorite (or at least, several people who told me liked this chapter a lot). Chapter 15 has more, of course, and so does our story. But maybe this small glimpse from the other side of Ryan’s hospital bed is enough for today. When I wrote this book, I wanted people to understand that childhood cancer doesn't happen only to the c

It’s fairly typical that siblings of a child with cancer in the family get a raw deal. The ones that are healthy and still need attention from parents and other adults in their lives may think they are overlooked, and are a lot of the times, that’s the case however, never intentional. It’s because the kid with a cancer diagnosis and all its craziness that turns families upside down, trumps the healthy kid(s) every time (or most every time). At least that is what I saw in my e

During Ryan’s main treatment for the first 10 years, we had three dogs; Wally, Lucky, and Lucy (not all at the same time, though). Wally first, then we added Lucky, and when Wally passed on, we adopted Lucy. And no, our dogs couldn't cure cancer. But they had other duties to keep all of us smiling when we were around. You know doggone (pun intended) well that they couldn't raise Ryan's blood counts, make a transfusion go faster, take away the side effects of chemotherapy, or

Reading The Inner Cure by Sheila and Tom Baker made a huge impact on me (and it still does). However, the thoughts, prayers, and poems in their little book can be for just about anyone going through a hard time, not just kids. Today, I thought I’d share another thought from their book during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Be Yourself Wake up today and be yourself, No matter where you go, For people always try to tell you what, Your goals and life should sow. They tell you

Volunteerism is the practice of freely giving your time, energy, and skills to help others or support a worthy cause without expecting financial payment. It is the silent engine that keeps many nonprofits going and doing their thing. My entire family has taken on many volunteer projects over the years, mostly helping organizations focused on childhood cancer. For us, it is that Post-Traumatic Growth and Gains. The term PTG was coined by Dr. Richard T. Tedeschi, Ph.D., a profe

Almost ten years ago, Tom (RIP) and Sheila Baker, Founders of Special Love, wrote a book together called The Inner Cure. It’s a short but powerful little book to help children and teens fight cancer. It will also help families understand what they are going through or about to go through, and join in the fight. According to Tom and Sheila, we know patients must deal with medication, radiation, and chemotherapy. All of this is part of the OUTER CURE. But you can never be total

The less than a minute video below is what I was able to grab from Katie Holloran, the busiest volunteer on Landon’s School campus for this past weekend’s Kids Triathlon in Bethesda, Maryland. This was her sixth year at the helm. It’s a hard job with all the logistics and finding volunteers (a hundred or more) to make the kid racers, ages 5-14, safe and happy. All money raised for this outstanding foundation goes to help kids with cancer and their families in need. The larges

Over the years, on many Fridays, I've written a sort of column on #CelebratingOthers here on this blog, and on my older blog for 10 years under QuiltsFromTheHeart. It always amazed me how wonderful, amazing, and diverse we as humans really are around the globe. Can you guess what my thoughts are after highlighting someone? It's the fact that people are good! We virtually all want the same things. The whole project has been one of the greatest blessings in my writing life. Tod

How Can I Help? 💛🎗️ It’s a question people often ask me/us when we were in crisis mode; others in the same boat as me got the same question too: “What can I do?” After years of childhood cancer treatments with Ryan, I included a list of “Helpful Hints” in The Focused Fight. I didn't find these ideas on the internet. They came from living it and figuring out what worked best when that question came up. My hope is that, with a few simple hints, readers here can help others, t

Over the past five years in September, and sixteen days into this one, I’ve posted something every day for Childhood Cancer Awareness 2026. Maybe that feels relentless. It’s supposed to. Because childhood cancer is relentless. The protocols are long and arduous, and there may be other kids in the picture to take care of, too; AKA other children/siblings. When a child is in treatment, cancer doesn’t take a day off. There are no weekends away from the worry. No vacation from bl

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. - Mark Twain In the past few videos and posts, I’ve mentioned how we got through tough moments and what helped us cope (receiving a card, postcard, or some chocolate chip cookies. However, we also had to adjust on our own and advocate for Ryan’s needs quite often. Chats From the Other Side of the Bed Through Ryan’s first protocol, and well into the second one, I felt versed enough with childhood cancer and the treatments (rememb

There is something special about sending and receiving a handwritten note. Thankfully, while we were dealing with Childhood Cancer with Ryan, friends and family often reached out to us via a card or letter sharing how much they were thinking about us. I wish I could have bottled that feeling. There is nothing like it. It’s being special. It’s being thought of when the world is spinning out of control. It’s feels like love…because cancer is loveless. The video below is with my

First and foremost, I want to recognize that it’s been 25 years since 9/11. Our worlds changed on that fateful day, yet, as a nation, we rallied around the families that were affected most by the Twin Towers in NYC, the Pentagon in D.C., and a cornfield in Shanksville, PA. Those left behind still need support. So much tragedy then that is still difficult to process. New Yorkers are still trying to “recover.” When a little child is diagnosed with cancer, it’s tragic. Not like