Good morning. What a crazy whirlwind my life has been in the last several weeks. It feels great to just sit a moment and share some of my thoughts. In the last several months we have made some major changes to our lives. In June we stepped down from working with the youth group at church. The season of being with the teens has come to an end for now. That doesn’t mean we won’t have teens around but that our responsibilities every week has changed. We have also opened our home to a delightful 18-year-old college girl who will be living with us for at least the next school year. It has been fun to introduce her to our lifestyle. I think she might be in shock sometimes! We helped her to find and buy her very first car. What a huge lesson for all of us. God opened doors and closed doors so quickly that our head was spinning! We are on a new journey and it is going to be fun.
We were able to take three teenage girls to Sandcastle water Park last Monday. Water, water and more water! It was so much fun and I loved remembering the times when I wasn’t able to do any of these rides before I had my eye surgery. After having Lasix surgery to correct my vision in 2001 I have been able to enjoy life more than I ever have before. We rode every ride several times and by the end of the evening we were all tired.
One of the greatest blessings has been a new ministry that is just starting in our church. Debby, Tamara and I have started a new ministry to make Dignity Robes for women having radiation therapy for breast cancer. God’s hand has been so evident in the blessing of this project. Back in late April I was at work and talking to my boss in his office. One of the other nurses came in. He explained that we had a new breast cancer patient and that she was asking about Dignity Robes. My boss stated that we didn’t have access to any at our facility. I didn’t have a clue to what a Dignity Robe was. Well I had other things on my mind so I filed the conversation away in my “something to look at later” box. God had other plans! Just a few weeks later Rick and I threw a party for Sean’s college graduation. My mom came out from Indiana for the party. She contacted a high school friend who had moved into the area about five years ago and invited Bonnie to come to our house for the party. When Bonnie came over I asked her what she was busy doing as I knew she couldn’t sit still! Bonnie explained that she was involved in cutting out Dignity Robes for a sewing group at a local church! Ok, God had my attention! She explained the program to me and gave me the lady’s name who coordinated the program.
As soon as the party was over I did a Google search. I was hooked. I spoke to Karen Radu who has coordinated the efforts for the Pittsburgh area. She gave me enough information to take to our church. Over the last several months the plans have all come together. The church family at Chippewa E. Free Church have embraced the idea. So this past week Tamara, Debby and I have met to get everything ready to kick off this new ministry. We have gathered material, copied patterns that Karen Radu brought to us. We have made a dozen “kits” to have available for anyone who is ready to start sewing! On Wednesday morning at 9:00 we officially launch the Chippewa Dignity Robe ministry! I am so excited. We will be supplying robes to the Heritage Valley Beaver Hospital and the Cancer Center st UPMC West in Moon Township. I work at both of these facilities so they are near and dear to my heart.
What is a dignity robe? When a woman has to undergo radiation treatments for breast cancer, she has to have treatments every day for weeks and months. So 5 days a week she comes into the Radiation Oncology Center. She changes out of her own top and into a “lovely” hospital gown. She then sits in the waiting room until her appointment time. At that time she walks into the radiation treatment room and then onto the radiation table. Because she has a hospital gown on it needs to be pushed out-of-the-way. She then has her treatment, gets covered back up, walks down the hall to the changing area and changes back into her street clothes. Every day this process is repeated. A dignity robe looks like a nurses scrub top with modifications! The side seams are closed with velcro. The front seam is closed with velcro. There are two pockets for tissues, keys or anything else she may need. They are pretty, soft, comfortable and easy to open up in just the area that needs to be exposed! They provide a touch of femininity and dignity to a situation that is so out of control!
The dignity robes are completely free to the women. The money and/ or material is donated to the various groups. Karen Radu has been wonderful in getting grants and donation to cover 6-7 different sites around Pittsburgh. Now we want to expand that number!
We will be meeting the third week of every month on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 3:00. I will be there on the Wednesdays. We need people to iron material, cut out material, package the material into kits ready to sew and then people who will actually do the sewing. We will be cutting and sewing at the church. But we will also have kits ready to be picked up and taken home to be sewn by anyone who can’t attend any of these sessions. The kits have the material pieces and the velcro pieces already cut out and ready. You will need to provide the thread, your time and your love! Our goal is to create enough Dignity Robes to fulfill the needs of the women at the two local centers. The need changes every month so we want to have enough Dignity robes on hand to provide them. We will eventually branch out into fundraising and other sewing projects such as bandanas and blankets.
I am so very blessed and excited about this project! My Aunt Marcy passed away from a very aggressive form of breast cancer so this touches my heart and helps it heal even more. My prayer is that we are all blessed by the fellowship and the compassion for our sisters who are battling this disease!
God is truly amazing! Thank you to Karen Radu, Debby Puth and Tamara Price for being a part of my life and a willing partner in God’s plan! I love you all!
