On 8/8/2007
AngieBaby85 wrote:
Hi All!
This is my first time posting... I hope everyone out there is doing good and feeling great!
I was wondering if y'all could help me with an idea I am working on. When I was 13, I was diagnosed with stage 3 Non-Hodjkins Lymphoma... I went through a year of chemo, and missed about a year of school. Thank God I'm now a healty 22 yr old, but whenever I have to go back for my yearly check-up and see the kids in the clinics, I can't help but remember how alone and scared I felt.
I want to make up "hope boxes" to bring to the clinic the next time I go for a check-up. I love making artsy things, so I figure I will get some plain wood boxes from my local craft store, and decorate them. Does anyone have any good ideas on what I can put IN the boxes, besides stickers and such? Do you know of any great/hopefull poems or quotes? I'm thinking of making the boxes geared towards teens, which can be hard.... Any help at all would be much appreciated... and thank you for taking the time to read this post! Take care.... : )
Angie (amfruzzetti@yahoo.com)
Dear Angie,
What a great idea. You have the unfortunate experience of having had to deal with this illness from an early age, but you are creatively helping others in their coping, and therefore turning it into gift.
Call me crazy, but even for teens I think a small piece of soft fabric (like a baby's blanket) could be comforting. Girls might like fun fur, guys might prefer denim, both might like fleece, but it would be a personal something to hold.
You might search the Chicken Soup for the Soul books for inspirational readings, poems and sayings. There is a Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, which was always wildly popular with the middle-schoolers I taught.
I might suggest journals and pens so they can document their journey.
Perhaps you could find or take especially beautiful (hopeful) photographs, laminate them, and include them in the boxes.
I am thinking that some of Michael J. Fox's inspirational quotes might be good.
I love candles, and maybe a small and pretty candle would be nice. It could be symbolic of their lives, a flame burning brightly. You might attach a small piece of (colored) paper with words to that effect.
You could go to a bookstore, Christian or otherwise, and get those little inspirational cards. One of my favorites came from a very good friend, and it says "Kind hearts are the gardens. Kind thoughts are the roots. Kind words are the flowers. Kind deeds are the fruits." There is a great variety of these, inspirational, humorous, all kinds, and they cost next to nothing.
What about something like a Hershey's Kiss?
What about crossword, Sudoku or Seek and Find magazines along with a sharpened pencils? These might be good for waiting room time.
Our hospital once had a traveling exhibit of art that had been done by cancer patients and cancer survivors. It was a stunning display of emotion, and I think it must have been healing for the people who created the art. To this end, I am thinking that some simple art supplies (colored pencils, small pads of paper, etc.) might encourage this kind of expression.
I will think more about this later on. I have to be somewhere soon, but I salute you for your creativity and your wish to help others navigate the journey you found difficult.
Bless you for your efforts.
Maggie