Welcome to Georgia's Journey

Georgia Lily Lucas was born at home on October 6th, 2008 4:15am, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) on April 1, 2009.

On April 3rd Georgia was taken home, to be near her sisters and the rest of her family and friends. Nearly three weeks later, on April 21, 2009, she died peacefully -- in the loving arms of her mother and in the same room in which she was born.

Friday, September 4, 2009

The Meeting

Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting last night. I think that it went really well and am confident that Georgia's Journey of Hope will be a big success. Several of the volunteers took tickets to sell to family, friends and coworkers. If you would like some tickets to sell please let me know. Please note that you don't need to have a ticket to get in the door. You can just pay the $5.00 entrance fee as you arrive.

My ever so creative and generous friend Tanya(the one who made the bracelets) also came up with the brilliant idea to have awareness ribbons made up. They are hot pink and say,'unite for Georgia' on one end and 'cure SMA' on the other. Thank you yet again Tanya. I have shared this idea with the Strongs and am sure that it will be passed along to all of the uniters.

Another big thank you to Rita for her generous donation for "Unite for the Cure". I have managed to personally put $1700 down towards our goal. I will continue to update all of you.

Next weekend is the big garage sale. Several people have started dropping items off at our house. If you are interested in donating some of your stuff to Pediatric Palliative Care here in Winnpeg please let me know. The girls will be selling lollipops for Unite for the Cure! : )

Am I busy? You betcha! Am I happy? Alot of the time. I am energized, confident and most importantly hopeful! Thank you for helping me get here.

Love to you all,

Kristen

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Escape

I have always been an avid reader, well at least from the age of 7. Ask me what I would take to a deserted island and books would be at the top of my list. I'll read almost anything as long as it has a strong story line and well developed characters. Since Georgia's death I have been unable to read the way I used to. Sure I can concentrate for a little while and read the lines but there hasn't been any stories that have grabbed my attention and made me want to read. In fact, there are several books that I have attempted to read since April 21st that lay unfinished in different spots around my house. They are a constant reminder of what I am no longer able to do.

While on holidays however I picked up a new book. It was actually on the couch at Mike's dad's house when I walked in. I had heard lots about it but it didn't sound interesting to me in the least. While I love love stories vampires aren't really my thing and why would I want to read something originally intended for teenagers anyway? So I read the first chapter... and then I read the second. I was surprised that it had piqued my interest. I decided to buy the book (the original was on its way back to Vancouver). I started reading it every night as I waited for the girls to fall asleep while we were away. All of a sudden I found myself thinking about the story at different times of the day and looking forward to 'bedtime'.

By the time that we were driving home I decided that I had better pick up the next book before I finished the first. This lead to a near panic attack as I ran down the aisles of Superstore in Medicine Hat on a Sunday night hoping that they had it. : ) I nearly broke out in a sweat when I had the third book in my hands but couldn't find the second. Eventually, I found it and nearly skipped back to Mike and the girls. After that I was hooked!

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I finally found an escape again. I am sure that psychologists would have a field day with a grieving mother finding escape in the ideas of immortality but I don't care. In the last two weeks I have found a way to totally and completely relax. When I am immersed in the world of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen I can shut out the rest of the world, at least for a little while. For those precious few minutes, sometimes hours the grief is gone.

I am sure that I could list several reasons as to why I love the story but here are just a couple. If you're a psychologist have fun!
Edward Cullen has become something that he never chose to become and certainly never wanted to become. Despite his circumstances he chooses to live a life that is full of love, compassion and empathy. This is a conscious choice on his part and something that he struggles with throughout the story. He and his family are loyal each other and will do whatever it takes to protect each other.
The heroine, Bella is portrayed as somewhat lost and often confused but again bases all of her decisions on selfless love. She refuses to be afraid even in the most dire circumstances. I like these ideas and in the end I loved the story.

The Twilight series was my first escape. I don't think that I'll have another one for quite a while. I don't even plan on picking up a book for at least a month! I am optimistic however that when the time is right I will find an escape yet again. Something that will allow me to feel refreshed and re-energized.

Love to you all,

Kristen

PS The movie sucks compared to the books!!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Block Party




Meet Mark.



Mark had the brilliant idea to organize a block party this year. He actually had the idea last year but we are all too late to jump on it. This year he and some of the other neighbors got organized early enough and we all had a blast on Saturday evening. There was music, a bouncer, face paint, sidewalk chalk and lots of food and drink. Our street isn't a very big one - only ten houses on each side. Even so I still couldn't have told you the name of half of the families on the street before Saturday. I think this has something to do with all of the time we spend indoors during our long winters!

At the block party they had a 50/50 draw and gave half of their earnings to Mike and me for SMA. Thank you to all of our generous neighbors. We will be putting it towards our goal of $5000 for Unite for the Cure. The 50/50 draw along with some generous family members are allowing me to donate $1200 in the next couple of days! Thank you so much. I also want to say thank you to Renelle for hosting a dinner party and asking her guests to donate to our cause as if they were going to a restaurant. Great idea Renelle, you're always so creative and generous.

Here are a couple pics from the block party. Enjoy!







Love to you all,

Kristen