A Blog About Bags

I have high hopes that The CHEMO Bag will take off in a big way. There has already been such a positive response from so many people; family, friends and strangers. There is already one fundraiser in April (more on that later) and one being planned for Pinktober…uh…I mean October (more on that later too). And there is another fund raiser being considered and some “big news” that I have been teasing people about on Facebook but as of yet I don’t have a confirmation on that so I cannot not talk about it (or the fundraiser being considered) for fear of jinxing myself.

Which is so hard for me….to not talk about it that is….

But I can share this with you. On Thursday March 28, 2013 we will be bringing our first batch of bags to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg campus in Bethlehem PA where I am (still) undergoing treatment for my particular cancer.

Let me tell you about infusion centers. Or at least, my particular infusion center. The people who work there are the nicest bunch of people you “never wanted to meet”. And I mean that with all my heart. There isn’t a person at my infusion center that I don’t adore. The women at the check in desk. The nurses. The volunteers. They are all wonderful. Does it sound weird to say I look forward to seeing them? It’s a horrible place to have to go to, but if you have to be there the best you can hope for is a group of caring individuals who are on your team. Who take the time to know the person that you are and not just the disease you carry.

 I went to the infusion center every week for 20 weeks, and I still go every third week until mid July. And I think after my last visit I will cry. And I will hug everyone there. And I will want to see them again under better circumstances.

The CHEMO Bags are for the patients, of course…but I can’t stop thinking about what I can do for my team. Yes, that is what I consider all these people. They are my team. They have listened to me cry, alleviated my fears and made me laugh. These are “my people”. And they deserve some recognition too. I’m going to have to think about this some more…

…but this is a blog about bags and so it’s bags that I will talk about.

Over 40 bags are ready to go now. And by March 28 I could have about 20 more lined up. Our original goal was 60 bags by May 1, 2013 and here we are with 40 bags already filled. Ready. All we need to do yet is attach the cards to the outside of the bags. And the only reason I haven’t done that yet is because I still want to get more signatures on the cards. This is one of the things that we are doing that makes me the most excited…getting signatures on a card. How wonderful will it be for the recipient of a bag to see all those signatures, to know that all those strangers care?

But my friends, my donation pile is running low. If you asked what did we “need” right now I would say: lap blankets (neutral colors for men and women), hard candies (lemon-heads), note pads and pens.

We can’t do this by ourselves and we need to keep the ball rolling. Please consider donating again, or sharing this info with your family and friends.

There are so many people who will thank you.