Sister Power

Part of the mission behind Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is to recognize that childhood cancer affects the whole family - immediate, extended, friends, schoolmates. The journey can be especially tough for siblings, and we've been amazed at how well Ivy has handled herself. Barely six when Georgia was diagnosed, she got a pretty good grasp of what was happening early on, and she continues to ask thoughtful questions and participate in Georgia's care. "Cancer" and "leukemia" are words she can easily say and concepts(?) she can incorporate into her daily life while still understanding it's not "the norm" for everyone. She's so smart and so helpful and just loves Georgia beyond measure - as her sister and her friend. They even have a Sister Power handshake, and I can see and feel it working every day.

Recently, totally unprompted, Ivy turned a cookie wrapper into an oyster shell and wrote the most beautiful story to go with it. I helped her assemble and frame it as a surprise for Georgia when she got home from camp, and now it's hanging in her room, a constant reminder of how special both of my girls are.

The middle is Georgia like the pearl. She is special. The blue is Lukemia like seaweed. The black is bad things and other sicknesses, like rocks. The white shell is all of the people that have helped Georgia. The stuff inside Georgia are some sicknesses but the reason there are not many is because Georgia is fighting them. Love, Ivy