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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Wishes for Bella blog Hop Week 4 and Bella Update

Here we are the last stop of the last hop for Bella!!!  A big thanks to everyone who has hopped with us all month.  And a big welcome to all the new hoppers!  My winner last week is....Rebecca (age 6)  .  Email me hun and I'll get your prize right out to you!!!
You should be hopping here from  Pat Sergeant's blog, if not head back to the beginning at Denise's blog.

According to the grand prize post tally we are closing in on 100 cards for Bella!!! Yay!!  So let's keep them coming this week and see how many we can get in the final days of the hop.  Please remember, I know summer is a busy time for everyone, so if you need to include a card you already made in your post about Bella that's OK.  Just make sure you link it up and mail it out!

We have gymnastics tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to get another update there.  If you're looking for other updates or ways to help, please check Bella's Page.  

We have prizes again this week from 4 very generous and talented ladies!!!! Thank you all for your support during the last moth, hugs!!
I will choose one random winner from the linky below when the hop concludes on Monday, July 19 at 12 noon EST.  I have yet to hear from last week's winner...Aunty Lisa.  If I don't hear from her by then, I will announce a new winner of last week's prize at that time too.
 2 digi's of your choice

 10$ gift certificate
1 rubber stamp of your choice

1 digi of your choice


And here a list of this week's participants...
 Once you're finished here, please post about the hop with a card you'll be mailing to Bella at....the grand prize post.
Then link your card to the grand prize drawing there which will take place on July 20.  And take thte code for the blinkie too, at the top of my blog.  Thanks so much for hopping and sending smiles to Bella.  Hugs!



About my card...it's splashy Sabrina from Whimsy Stamps.  With basic grey eva paper, pearls, some wild orchid flowers, a charm and some wide satin ribbon. The sentiment is from SU.
Challenges...
All that scraps...sketch
From Bella's blog........
Bella_bandageAt the time of our last entry, Bella had just been re-admitted to Children's Hospital with a bad case of pneumonia. She is still recovering from this bout, but thanks to her strong will combined with the love and support of her family and friends, she has finally been discharged from the ICU and is currently recuperating in the hospital's CCS (Coordinated Care Services).   She has a new team on the CCS floor with whom she is quickly making friends.  At the same time, she still enjoys visits from all of her ICU nurses and her surgical team - Nancy, Janet, David and Carla - also known as "The Blue Team". 

On Monday, June 22, she underwent her 9th surgery to remove bone splints that continued to grow after the amputation and to graft skin on her right leg to help close an open wound from the previous surgeries. 

She continues to work hard with her Physical Therapy nurses every day and we are seeing daily improvements in her strength as a result of her efforts.  Her PT consists of ten sets of exercises (such as arm lifts or leg lifts) that focus on strength, rotation and flexibility. The nurses created a "prize tree" for her, and every time she completes an exercise, they move a monkey from one tree to the next, and when one tree is full of monkeys, she gets a prize (usually a Silly Band). Because of these exercises, she is now able to sit for longer periods of time while keeping her balance, which is a huge step!

Her recovery has allowed her to play on her new iPad with her brothers, Facebook with friends, take daily trips to the Cafeteria, and feed the birds on a beautiful sunny day with her family in the hospital's garden.

We believe that her "can do" attitude is 100% fueled by the love and support of family, friends and strangers. This past month, several members of her school family visited her, including Principal Boyd, her 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Daily, her future occupational therapist Mrs. Ouellette, her future 4th grade teacher Mrs. Gray,  and the new Assistant Principal Mr. Hurt. She even got a visit from NH Governor John Lynch!  And of course, her sister, brothers and parents have made sure that one of them is always at her side. She knows that we can't wait for her to come home.

We continue to be floored and humbled by the outpouring of kindness that Bella and the rest of our family have received.   We would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the tremendous efforts that have been made over the past month to raise money for Bella's fund. These have included The Blue Ruin NYC Fundraiser, The Bella Tucker Fundraiser in Lynbrook, NY, The Chin up A-Thon, Bounce for Bella, lemonade stands, car washes, yard sales and hot dog stands throughout the community, all of which have been huge successes. 

We also feel that two other fundraisers deserve a special acknowledgment.  Sarah Sullivan, a radio host from local station Frank FM, heard Bella's story and reached out to us. Frank FM subsequently set up a Radio-thon for Bella and Sarah poured her heart into the event. The Radio-thon was held at Mack's Apples on Mammoth Road in Londonderry, and the station -- and Sarah -- devoted the entire day to raising awareness for Bella.

Jason Weeden is a local resident who also heard about Bella's plight and took it upon himself to raise money for her, despite the fact that she was a stranger. He has created Bella wristbands to raise awareness and recently organized a "Ride for Bella" and gathered over 200 motorcyclists to participate in the event.  It was quite a sight, seeing the motorcycles in a line stretching over a mile long!

In summary, we are aware that Bella has a long road to recovery ahead, but at the same time, we are all so grateful for the love and support you have shown us.  We will try to send updates more often, and in the meantime, hug your kids tight.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

16 comments:

Random Acts of Krafting

She will love it! Thank you for putting this together.
Hugs
Tanya

Karen McAlpine

So, so, very cute card, Erin. Again, what a great hop. So many talented and giving ladies. Kudos to all!

Riet

Beautiful card Erin,i love the image and the colours.
So gorgeous papers.

Hugs Riet.xx

Chris Olsen, Glowbug

I just love what you have done with Splashy Sabrina Erin!! Bella will love it. Beautiful colors, coloring, layout and details!
hugs,
Chris

Anonymous

I have hopped and hopped and hopped!
Loved every minute of it!
What beautiful cards have been created for Bella.
I have sent mine and my two boys, ages 8 & 9 are looking forward to participating!

Crystal

Fabulous card, I love the image & the DP as well as the layout! Bella will be thrilled with all the cards she will be receiving! Mine's being mailed tomorrow :)

Crazy Creations

I love your card ,Thank you Erin for letting me be part of this hop.She is goiNG TO BE SO HAPPY.hUGS sARAH

Donna Espiritu

its so beautiful! bella will LOVE it!

angelique (anlou)

i'ts an amazing card
bella will love it and make her smile
thanks for the chance to win a price
hugs angelique

Rachel V.

The mermaid is awesome! Such a pretty card. Bella will love it!

Marianne's Craftroom

A really beautiful card Erin. Thanks for the chance to win. I'm so sorry that I had to pull out at the last minute. I loaded a new antivirus which didn't work so I sent you a quick e-mail even though my laptop was unprotected. It took me a couple of days to get it fixed. I am sending my fourth card to Bella and have some candy on my blog. Marianne x

Fiona

fantastic card Erin...thanks for giving me the chance to take part in this event. I'm sure Bella will love all her cards.

Fi
x

Shazza

fantastic card Erin. I am a new hopper and think this is such a great idea. I will be making a card tonight for Bella
x

Brook

Beautiful card. The flowers are gorgeous. I think it's wonderful what everyone is doing. This little girl has been through so much it is nice to know that she will have a smile on her face as she goes through the 100's of cards she is sure to receive. I will be mailing mine tomorrow and my boys are each going to make one for her as well. Thank you all for doing this.

Lorraine A

gorgeous card Erin :-) I am sure Bella will love it :-)

thanks for the update ,, it is lovely to know that bella is keeping positive and has such a fanastic group of carers around her giving her oodles of encouragement :-) the monkey tree is a fab idea :-)

I have joined in again this week and it has been a pleasure to make cards for her, I will continue to do so on a regular basis too :-)

sending BIG HUGS and well done to you and Denise for such a successful hop and I appreciate all your hard work :-)

luv
Lols x x

Linda

Very cute card and another fabulous hop to help support Bella.
Sounds like she is making some good progress already.