Mark 9:36-37
36 He took a little child and had him stand among them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them,
37 Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
Dear Friends,
This issue of Sew Beautiful is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Blair, our cover girl for the July 2003 issue of Sew Beautiful featuring the children of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. After a three-year battle with cancer, Blair passed away on July 25, 2003.
The day we photographed at St. Jude was such a happy day for all of us. The precious children were so excited about being in Sew Beautiful. Their parents and the hospital staff appeared to be just as excited for them. Jennifer, our photographer, repeated her foolproof "Say pickles" again and again to make the children laugh. It was a day full of smiles and giggles. We traveled all over the hospital snapping pictures. Only one of our models, Blair , was not physically strong enough to get out of bed to have her picture taken. Jennifer and her assistant wore scrubs to go into Blair's room so as not to expose her to any outside germs. Blair’s mother was there to help her get into her hand smocked dress that was made from the St. Jude/Hancock Fabric collection. Blair was a little princess, smiling from the minute the first frame was snapped to the last.
The only challenge we faced with the St. Jude pictorial was having to select one photograph for the cover after Jennifer presented us with so many wonderful images. They were all just perfect. After much discussion, the staff unanimously decided upon the picture of Blair. Her gorgeous eyes and all the expression they held, the bravery behind them touched us so much. Yes, Blair was to be the cover girl.
This is Blair’s story as I have learned. Four days after her third birthday, Blair's family discovered she had neuroblastoma. She was having severe abdominal pain, low-grade fevers, and vomiting, and was constantly wanting her parents, Damara and Michael, to hold her. While at their local hospital, Blair's family heard of St. Jude from a man they had never seen before. "We felt like God had sent an ‘angel,' and we made the decision to come to St. Jude," said Damara.
While at St. Jude, Blair received chemotherapy treatments, antibodies to help shrink her tumors, and a bone marrow transplant. Blair's family didn't have to worry about the costs of the treatment and were able to focus on getting Blair the care she needed. The family moved into Target House, a home-away-from-home for patients who will be spending an extended period of time at the hospital. Blair was able to be with her younger brother Jacob, and both of her parents while she was going through treatments.
Blair was aware that she had cancer, but she never let it get her down. She was an extremely articulate little girl who loved all things pretty. Before Jennifer could snap any photographs, Blair insisted on wearing her white Sunday shoes. It didn’t matter that she would be photographed from the waist up in her bed; she just did not feel that her outfit was complete without her dressy shoes. She loved her heart-smocked dress and wore it home from the hospital on the day of a Hancock Fashion Show, even though she could not participate. Blair played dress-up and Barbies, painted her nails, and watched cartoons. Like most little girls, she adored dolls. When she received her Martha Pullen "Best Friends" doll and party dresses as a gift for modeling, she immediately began combing the doll’s hair and changing her clothes. She was a girlie girl! It’s how we will always remember her.
Blair’s courage and strength will help St. Jude doctors and scientists continue to find better treatments for neuroblastoma. She is survived by her grandparents, parents and younger brother. As we celebrate Blair's life, and as we celebrate the work being done to save lives at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, please hug your little ones and thank God almighty if he/she does not have a catastrophic illness. Please pray, thanking God for St. Jude in continuing their research to fight incurable, catastrophic diseases. Please pray for the children being treated there as well as for all children with life-threatening diseases and conditions. As Danny Thomas, the founder of St. Jude, said, "No child should die in the dawn of life."
God Bless,
Martha Pullen
Note: St Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tennessee, St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund-raising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org or call 1-800-822-6344. We at Martha Pullen Company have a special section on their web site where you can donate as a member of our sewing family at www.stjude.org/marthapullen. Please consider giving a donation in memory of Blair or to honor your children who are well and healthy. As one St. Jude parent told the staff of Hancock Fabrics recently, "When we found out that our daughter had cancer we thought that children's cancer was something that happened to other families." St. Jude is there for all children - yours, others and mine. Please give.