Thank you Teri, Tami, Weyerhauser & Crusaders Car Club!

Look what arrived at my door this week! My friend and locker partner from 8th grade, Tami (Wilkerson) Dunning called me last week to tell me that after reading in my blog about how I was going to have to try and borrow my husbands laptop for my Reno trip, made some calls. In turn, those people made some calls, and so on down the line. What then happened was that Weyerhauser, who can't make donations to an individual, but can to a non-profit, donated an old lap top to a car club called Crusaders (in Washington), who then in turn donated it to me so I could have it for my long chemo days, my days spent in bed after chemo and for my Reno trip! Can you believe it????? I can't!!!!!!! I was just flabbergasted at the generosity of people's time and resources. Just as I am floored by all that everyone has done for me the last 1.5 years of battling this disease. I have to tell you that my belief in the goodness of mankind has been restored and then some. It is unbelievable the support I have been shown, by people I know and don't know. By the most suprising and unlikely places. I am in awe of all of these people and the good that they do. They are role models for us all and I admire them so much. Thank you for enriching and touching my life so positively and making the last 1. 5 years much better than I could have ever dreamed. I am really happy and in a good place most of the time, regardless of what is going on with the nasty C word, and that is in large part due to you all and the support you have shown me in every which way imaginable. From every hug, email, blogpost, hat, letter, card, phone call, gift, donation, laptop, I love you spoken, prayer said, etc. Every little thing matters, so thank you from the bottom most reaches of my heart.


The lap top thing happened at such a bizarre time. The week before I got the phone call from Tami, my "Making Life Count" Women with Stage IV Metastatic Cancer support group (aka The Death Squad") was just talking about this very thing. It's so weird how stuff like that happens. We were talking about 3 ladies that had gone on Hospice and who didn't have access to a computer anymore (we have an email group to trade info, updates, etc) because they were bedridden. Someone suggested getting some laptops donated that we could in turn loan out to the ladies on hospice and then labeling them etc. to make sure they got back to us and erased etc. when they were done with them. Someone had mentioned that companies (such as Intel) can't donate to individuals, but can to nonprofits. So we thought that the moderators of our group, Cancer Care Resources, could be given the laptops as donations. I had thought it was a good idea and made a note in my head to ask Paris' hubby, who works at Intel, about it. Then I promptly forgot (common thing with me the last 1.5 years). 5 days later, before going into my chemo, I get a call from Tami about that very thing! Isn't that weird? I feel kind of guilty being the one blessed with a laptop, when these other women are in need of one more than I though.


So if anyone out there knows anyone or a company that is upgrading their laptops and getting rid of their old ones, email me at shaunaimmel@verizon.net or make a call to someone, who makes a call to someone, who then makes a call to someone and then Cancer Care Resources get about 3-4 used laptops in the mail for the women that go on hospice in my Metastatic Cancer support group to use. That would really ROCK. Not to mention, make a lot of very ill ladies very happy. I love to see them happy because we've been seeing way too much sadness lately. I would be eternally grateful. As would they. Thank you.



Now I need to thank my friend Teri Cutts for this great hat! It's an unexpected and very appreciated Christmas gift! I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten on it the last two days! And people wanting to know if I made it (I should just lie and say "yes" LOL). And people not even noticing my bald head because they are so distracted by the hat!!! Love that! And look how great it goes with my brown sweater that my mom gave me for Christmas!


Cut to funny story about not noticing my bald head.... while at the Sprint store getting my phone switched to Dave's old one (I dropped my other one way too many times), the sales clerk wanted to know if I wanted a Blue Tooth or something. I commented that "with my luck, it would probably give me brain cancer!" Dave laughs and we share a look and then the guy, clueless to my baldness (thanks to my great hat), says "well, we're all gonna get cancer anyways". I just let that one go, but felt pretty good about flying under the cancer radar, regardless of my baldness.


Ok, cut back to Teri Cutts.



Teri and I know each other from our hobby of scrapbooking. It was probably about 8 years ago that we met at a Creative Writing (using those Zig scroll & brush, Calligraphy and fine/bold pen sets) class at a little, tiny scrapbook store that used to be in Beaverton, just off of Hwy. 217. I think it was called "It's a Wonderful Life" or something like that. We both had signed up for a beach weekend trip full of scrapbooking, prizes, and eating and was put on by the ladies at the store. She came with her friends, and I came with mine, and we all hit it off.

I remember being in awe of her scrapbooking style, her creative pages and her sticker stash! She had every single sticker ever made I think! I remember her being in awe of my patterned paper stash (helps to work for a big scrapbook paper maufacturer). I think we inspired each other! We both started frequenting a newly opened scrapbook store and going to big all night crops on a regular basis. We became fast friends and went on several Scrapbook Adventures together, like the first Creating Keepsakes University (big weekend of scrapbook classes and cropping) ever in Provo, Utah and CKU Anaheim. Boy did our group, The Cowabunga Croppers, clean up at CKU Anaheim. We were a finalist and asked to perform our theme song, "Everyone's Gone Scrappin, Scrappin CKU" at the big tailgate party. We won the door contest with our treasure map, Delux Die Cuts, pirate themed door decor and 3 of us from the same hotel room/group , won in the page contests (Teri, Nic Howard from NZ and myself!).

Once in awhile we still get together to shop, bake (remember the caramel/chocolate apples and pretzels at Paris?) or scrapbook at Teri's cabin (with Paris and Kimberly Llorens) in Black Butte (Southern Oregon). Or we meet for lunch or coffee. Not nearly enough though. Very far and few inbetween. And usually they are going or meeting without me because of my busy schedule. But I cherish those times we have spent together and look forward to more. And I usually see Teri more on the soccer field anyways (both of our daughters are playing soccer in the same league!). It's always nice to run into her.

What I will remember the most though, is that after my surgery, she sent me a card in the mail every single week, without fail. She always found the greatest cards too. This probably went on for at least a year. I can't tell you how much it meant to me and brightened my days. She has always been so generous and thoughtful and I love her so much! Thank you Teri!!!!

xoxoxox
Shauna