My husband Mark got diagnosed with AML (acute myeloid leukemia) back in May. Together we have 4 boys ages 17, 15, 12, and 7. Needless to say it turned our lives upside down and we are still reeling from it at times. He had to quit working and I dropped photography so I could balance being caregiver and mother to our 4 boys and not have any added stress. Mark went through 4 rounds of chemo, 2 of them as an outpatient this summer so we were driving to and from the city a LOT. It’s about 1.5 hours from our home to the hospital. After his cancer went into remission, we started planning with the doctors what our best plan of action would be. We decided with his cancer being so aggressive, a stem cell transplant was the best option. We were so thankful to find out his brother Karl was a match and so the journey of transplant began. The actual transplant took place on Sept 9th and he spent 5 weeks in the hospital.
Mark is now home and the road to recovery will be slow and long, as is normal with this type of transplant. He will not be able to go back to any sort of job for up to a year. After 100 days and some blood tests, we will find out if he is cancer free. This puts us somewhere in the middle of December.So for now we rest, pray, and hope! Here is a collection of some raw moments covering the span of May – October.
We are eternally grateful for the incredible support system around us through this journey. The staff at GD6 in HSC and Cancer Care, my family and friends who’ve taken care of our boys and brought us food for months, the boys’ school friends and West Park families and staff, Mark’s friends from far away spending hours on the phone with him to help pass the time, loved ones flying in to sit with him for a weekend or help with projects around the house, Mark’s mom who laid down everything to come stay with us this summer and fall so I could be with Mark at the hospital, his brother Karl who was a match and came up to donate his stem cells and love on the boys, and his sister Holly who spent endless hours facetiming and loving on her baby brother and walking him through the worst days. So so thankful.
As we try to find a balance with this new life and the challenges of staying afloat financially, I decided it was time to put my hands and mind to work and start raising some funds. I knew right from the start I didn’t want to open a Fund Me account and ask for money. I want to be able to give back and keep pursuing my passion of creating beautiful prints for your homes and offices. I’ve collected a bunch of frames and gave them some new life and listed them in my print shop. All the barn wood frames you see, were made by Mark a couple years back when I was selling them at markets etc. They are all rustic and one of a kind! On top of that I’ve also added the option of purchasing any of the prints in my shop WITH a frame! The fine art matte prints measure 5″x 5″ and are printed on beautiful lustre paper so they will last a long time. They are framed in a classic white matted 10″ x 10″ frame! Below is a sample of some of the listings. Keep in mind you are purchasing the frame, but can choose any image from my print shop to go with it!
To shop frames and images, click –> HERE
Or find the link at the top of my site under “shop”.
So for all of you who have been asking how they can help, this is a little something that will go a long way! In return I get to help you by putting something on your wall.
xoxo
Rosie