When it comes to dealing with bad news– whether this pertains to illness, financial issues, family problems, or something else catastrophic– many do not know how to best prepare and cope with the situation. How do you “simplify” matters like this enough to process them?
When we are faced with these types of situations, our first gut reaction is to panic, cry, and maybe even scream. And that’s okay! But as soon as possible, we need to try to regain our composure and remain calm so that we can rationalize what is happening around us. Now I know this is easier said that done, but for many parents and loved ones of sick children, this is key to helping our child understand and remain calm. They need to see hope in your eyes in order to feel secure and have hope themselves.
It may help for you to write out your thoughts and feelings, or even make a “list” of possible scenarios and outcomes so that when or if a crisis arrives, you have had a chance to think things through and at least are not left saying, “I just don’t know what to do next!”. Being prepared mentally and physically is a way to remain calm and will help relieve some of the stress around you.
And, if you cannot do this on your own– don’t be afraid to reach out to others to help. Sometimes those around you simply do not know what to do but want to help lighten your burden. Let me know some of your ways for coping with the stress and chaos around you and if you have any other ideas that may work for others in your same situation!
My new website is up and running, my comic book has launched, and I will be making lots of appearances either for book signings or at festivals. It is exciting and a little overwhelming but all in all I am so very happy to have something new to offer in order to donate more money to CHOP. I am hoping to be receiving more calls for appearances so that I can share my new comic book with more and more organizations. My foundation is growing every year and I look forward to see where it will turn next!
Right now during Childhood Cancer Awareness month, we are offering a promotion– For a $100 donation, we will send 10 copies of the new comic book to your local hospital, and one signed copy to you. My goal is to help as many families as possible by inspiring them to hold on to the hope that everything will be okay. If you are interested, please email erin@roundtablecompanies.com. Thank you all for your support. Let’s join together and do all we can to promote awareness this month, and every month!
When someone is extremely ill, the caregivers are just as vulnerable as the patient.
Continue reading ‘Take a Day’
While driving today I was thinking back to the sick little girl I was for so many years. It is not only this time of year, September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, that the memories are fresh in my mind; I often reflect on my experiences and how I got to where I am today.
I was trying to remember when I began to separate myself from her, this sick little girl that I was, and tried to understand how I managed to cope. I was very ill, but so determined to be okay that I somehow lost myself in the child I was and became someone else. Yet, somehow I got through it all. Mentally, I also survived. Perhaps it was a mix of the support I received from my parents and my psychologist and even a little bit of my stubbornness that kept me afloat and on an even keel.
Wanting to be “normal” kept me going and still does. To this day I feel a strong urge to speak for sick children when I see them at my appearances, and to share the feelings and worries that I know they are experiencing but maybe cannot express. I feel I can since I was in their little shoes at one time. And I’m still here today. I survived, and I hope that I can share my message with others and show them that perhaps a brighter future does exist and they can and will get through this… somehow.
If you have not yet, please help spread awareness this month (and every month) about Childhood Cancer so we can keep up the fight and conquer this together.
As I sit here in my home on the anniversary of 9/11 feeling very safe and comfortable, I reflect on the past 10 years and all that we have gone through as a nation.
Continue reading ‘A Reflection on 9/11′
Well, the book is finally here, for sale, and so very cute and heartwarming that I have all good feeling about its success.
Continue reading ‘My Comic Book Update’
Well, it’s finally here, the long awaited comic book release, and the party that I have planned to share my new book with all of you. Please join me in the celebration this Sunday, September 11th so that you can be some of the first to see my newest project. I look forward to sharing this visual story with all of you and donating my profits to CHOP. I am tickled to have my book complete during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and hope that we can raise both awareness and money to someday eliminate this terrible disease.
I toast the families and children I have met over the past few years who have humbled me and made me want to work harder to reach these goals in my lifetime. I love to hear all of your stories and my heart breaks for all of the families that have to go through what I had been through with my family. It did manage to make us stronger and more determined to fight back though and by sharing this new book with all of you, you will be able to experience my story, feel my pain and that of my family, as well as witness the happiness I have also felt in my life.
Join us at Rocco’s Townhouse on Third Street in Hammonton NJ from 5-9 for the gathering on such a special day. Do something charitable on 9/11 and let me put a smile on your faces as well. The event is free to attend- Bring the family and stay for dinner or just have a cocktail and say hello. I will be selling both of my books all evening, and if you can’t attend but still want to support my efforts, you can check out my website and purchase either book there.
Here’s to keeping up the fight!
After a long hot and wet summer, the end of the season is coming and it gives me time to reflect. As I sat by my pool possibly for the last time and read this weekend, I thought of all I have been through in my lifetime. What I appreciate most of course is family, but the change of seasons and what the holiday weekends mean to me brings me back to my childhood and summertime. I remember just how much we looked forward to the beginning of summer and the end of school! We were excited to go to camp, swim, play and do all of the things outdoors that the summer weather allows you to do. Memorial Day weekend opened those doors for us and then Labor Day came around to announce that the summer is ending. School will begin again, the weather will change slowly and another winter will be upon us. Being ill just made me appreciate this all more, since every season I was still part of the family and still fighting to survive and that kept me going. For me personally, all of these holiday weekends were wonderful, and made me look forward to what was to come next. What are your favorite holiday weekends?
It’s finally here–September! It is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and we will get to share the story of my life in a comic book form.
We are celebrating at a local spot near my home on September 11th at Rocco’s Townhouse in Hammonton NJ from 5-9 p.m.. For those of you that can make it, you can get one of the first signed copies of my newest book and have some good company on such a memorable day. What a nice thing to do on our 10 year anniversary of 9/11. Join others for some comfort and smiles and give back to your community. For every book sold, I again will donate 100% of the profits to CHOP. Email or FB me if you have any questions. This event is free and everyone of all ages are welcome. See you there!
What is important to you? We do not think about this enough, except maybe when something serious happens, and we are forced to slow down and face reality.
So what is important to you? What do you need, and what is a priority when you have limited time to pack up and leave? I had to evacuate my home because of Hurricane Irene this weekend. Although I love my home, and cherish my personal things and all of our “stuff”, there was only so much I could take with me.
What did I choose? I knew that I needed to keep important papers, jewelry, medicine, and my dog.
We made certain our entire family was safe and lifted all of our photo albums up high, along with electrical cords and computer towers. At that point I stopped to think about everything else. My friends, family and valuables were all I really needed. Everything else is replaceable. I am not saying I would not have been extremely upset to have lost it all, but I can replace it all over time. But the things I chose to take with me, I could not.
Take a moment to think about this, what is important to you? And what would you make sure to take with you if you had to leave home?
