Wow, how have we got to September already?! It is officially Autumn (meteorologically speaking!) I hope you have all enjoyed your summer holidays and had lots of adventures! Did you make it to the seaside? It has certainly been busy here is Scarborough!
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month where many cancer organisations rains awareness and crucial funds to support young people and their families. Last September was a blur for us as we navigated our way through Evie's diagnosis and began her chemotherapy so this year I have been able to think a bit more about trying to give something back to those who have helped us during the last 12 months. The international symbol for childhood cancer is the gold ribbon and you are encouraged to #makeseptembergold in any way you can! This year I am donating all the profits from any gold jewellery sold during the month of September, then afterwards I am going to ask Evie to nominate a gold piece which I will continue to donate the profits of any sales for the rest of 2021. I will be donating the funds to Candlelighters who have supported us throughout our journey in Leeds. Please have a read about what wonderful services they offer to the families of those children receiving treatment.
Last month Evie ended up in ICU after contracting Sepsis and going into Acute Respiratory Distress. Her lungs stopped working and she was put onto an Oscillator (a jiggly ventilator!) whilst the Doctors were able to stabilise her. During that time both of us were able to visit Eves in ICU which we are not able to do on the Transplant Ward, so Candlelighters arranged for us to stay at the Cottage. This was the first time we had spent more than 10 minutes together in 6 months, since Evie was admitted back for her transplant treatment. It meant so much to us to have that valuable time together with Evie and we are so very grateful they have such a wonderful facility to allow parents to stay near their children. They do so much for us day to day on the ward, help with shopping and washing as we are not able to leave the hospital, magic up tasty treats when Evie was eating, supply us with endless tea and biscuits and a give caring shoulder to cry on when the days aren't the best.
Thankfully Evie has made an absolutely astonishing recovery and we are now back on track with her transplant recovery. Her transplant was estimated to take around 10-12 weeks, however she developed GVHD which has led to her recovery taking now over 4 months! The end is in sight, albeit a very small dot on a distant horizon and we've got some tough rehabilitation work to do but we've got this far - what is a few more weeks!
So if you fancy starting your Christmas (its September, I'm allowed to use that word now!!) early and supporting an absolutely wonderful charity whilst doing so then please have a browse of my Make September Gold collection. All the pieces listed come in different gold options and there are some one off gold plated pieces listed too, hopefully something for every budget! This also applies to my NOTHS and Etsy shops.
Thank you so much and help #makeseptembergold in whatever way you can!