See, I am doing a new thing, Part Two
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecc 3:11
As you may or may not know, my son Levi battled stage 4 testicular cancer for approximately two and a half years when he was 19 years old. It was a screeching halt pivotal moment for him and our entire family. I could write a book about all the things that happened during that time and this blog actually started as an outlet for those thoughts, providing a place for all of it to live instead of inside my body. I never thought anyone would even read it; I simply needed to do it. I’m not going to repeat the details of that here, but the story begins at the bottom of this blog if you care to understand more deeply. There is no survival guide for navigating the waters of that serious of an illness, especially when it’s your child. No one would argue that there is a strong undeniable bond that a mother has with her child and only another mother could possibly understand the depth of that wound. That is not to diminish the care of a father at all. It is simply a fact.
A bout with illness can be very isolating because you are removed from the normalcy of life. We were removed from our home, our hometown, and our family and friends because we mostly stayed in Pittsburgh. Levi had so many surgeries, treatments, and hospitalizations that we practically lived there for two and a half years. Of course we had people who cared about us, but people don’t know what to do. They want to help, but they don’t know how, they don’t want to do the “wrong” thing, too much, too little, and when you don’t know what to do, you do nothing. We all do it. I was so focused on Levi that even if you would’ve asked me if I needed anything I would’ve said no. I had no idea what I needed. I wouldn’t even have been able to articulate that at the time. You are the very last thing on your mind! My sister actually apologized to me years later because she admitted she had no idea what to do to help us. Ask any mother in this situation if she would feel permission to ask for something she needed, and I can almost guarantee you she would say, “No.” Mothers are socialized to be care givers not care takers.
Did you know that each day in the United States 47 children are diagnosed with cancer? That translates into roughly 17,000 children per year. Cancer is the leading cause of death in American children, resulting in the loss of 1,800 children each year. Another shocking statistic is approximately 45% of all mothers of sick children experience some form of Post Traumatic Stress sometimes not presenting until years later. I realized in the light of statistics like these, and through my own personal experience that there is no organized support for care givers in these situations. We are incredibly blessed in this country to have a plethora of programs and organizations that support children who are sick. There are literally hundreds of programs like Four Diamonds, St. Jude, Make a Wish, that do a fantastic job of helping the person who is sick. I’m thankful for all of that, but I want to fill the glaring gap and provide much needed support to the mothers, the caregivers, and ultimately the family. They need our support. We all know that illness can sometimes be more stressful on the caregiver who is trying to keep it all together. Caregivers can also sometimes feel guilt, powerlessness, frustration, and often blame themselves. All of this possibly creating a stressful ripple effect within the family. I want them to know that they are not alone, that someone sees them and cares. That they have permission to receive help. Not everyone has a support system.
So why am I sharing all of this? What is the solution? How can we help? It is with great enthusiasm that Levi and I announce the launch of All the Beautiful Things, a 501c3 non-profit corporation. I heard somewhere that your greatest purpose is very closely tied to your greatest pain. The seed for this mission was planted in my heart 7 years ago and it has been germinating and waiting for the perfect season to sprout. Levi and I came up with the concept together and outlined a basic plan to address the problems we identified. We worked on it in fits and starts as time permitted, but it was never far from my mind. Like an app running in the background, my radar has been continually looking for the people, partners, resources, and specific items I knew I would need in order to launch. I feel like the last 7 years has been preparation for this moment. I know with total certainty that all of 2022 was setting the stage for it to unfold. So many things had to fall into place and so far, they have!
All the Beautiful Things has as its core mission to provide:
A beautiful care box that has been carefully and thoughtfully curated to provide essential items needed for long hospital stays as well as for the return home. The “Beautiful Box” will appeal to all five of the senses to nourish the body and soul.
Emotional support provided through an interactive app that everyone can access free on their phone, and hotlines that can provide additional help.
A community forum where caregivers can go to read the stories written by other caregivers so they know they aren’t alone and that someone else understands. They can also use the forum as a space to write about their experience as a casual form of exposure therapy so they can give their thoughts another place to live.
A solution for anyone who has a loved one battling an illness and they don’t know what to do. All The Beautiful Things will donate all boxes for free, but will also have an online option for the public to purchase boxes for themselves. 100% of all proceeds will be used to further the charitable mission.
I am personally committing 10% of all of my income from my Kristie Leigh Art business to funnel into the corporation to help fund the mission. I want my clients to know that everything they purchase from me will help to contribute to this cause. Will you please consider partnering with us to help us reach as many people as possible? We need your help; there is no way we can do this alone. Nothing is too small. Little things matter!
There is so much more and we have so many ideas for the depth and breadth of this mission! It’s blissfully and beautifully overwhelming.
Our first fundraiser is this Friday, February 10th. More on that in Part Three tomorrow.
Thanks for reading,
K-
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