On Sept. 10, 2013, as Woodwinds Tour Coordinator Julianne Degenhardt looked through the hats and shawls Team Yarn donated, she said, “Folks are just going to love them.”

“These are just unbelieveable,” said Bridget Holmen, nurse navigator. She turned to Team Yarn Co-Founder Amy Pass and said, “Thank you for sharing your mom’s memory with us.”

“I know what it’s like to be in the shoes of someone giving care,” Amy responded. Because of that, she believes it is very important to give shawls, lap blankets and other items not just to the cancer patients, but also their family members and caregivers.

That’s exactly what happens at Woodwinds, and they go through prayer shawls in particular very quickly. All of their prayer shawls are blessed before they are distributed. “They are very much appreciated,” observed Julianne.

“People get very attached to them,” remarked Bridget. “Things go out the door as fast as we get them.” In particular, folks like darker colors.

“We appreciate everything you’ve done,” said Julianne.

“We have a very small staff here. Because we are so small, our patients really get to know us,” observed Bridget. That also enables nurses to have a pulse on who might really need a hat or a shawl. “Shawls and hats all help a patient on this journey,” Bridget said. “This gift you’ve given us is beautiful.”

My mom was just astonished when she was brought into the Harbor Room and told she could pick out hats, Amy recalled. “I remember her telling me about it.”

ABOUT WOODWINDS
This is the third year Woodwinds has received 3rd place on the list of Top 100 Hospitals in the United States.

Due to the high demand, the hospital plans to double its cancer unit in a few years and begin offering radiation services. “People love coming here,” observed Woodwinds Volunteer Coordinator Ivonne Norberg.

“There are lots of healing art therapies that are available at Woodwinds,” noted Julianne, including acupuncture, healing touch and essential oils.

“I was so fascinated by what I saw online,” Amy told Woodwinds representatives.

At Woodwinds, they recognize the value of music for the sick. A harpist plays soothing music in the infusion area some days. There’s a pianist in the main area of the hospital other days and students on violin. Those who want to perform at Woodwinds audition first, which points to their talent.

They also recognize the power of pets, and people are able to bring their pets with them during the day.

In the ward where patients receive their chemotherapy, there are no televisions and few disturbances. It is a peaceful area, a place with large windows, scenic views of the 30 acres around Woodwinds, and strategically placed bird feeders installed by Boy Scouts. Research has shown how beneficial it is to those who are sick to be surrounded by views of nature.

At Woodwinds, there is a large gazebo in the  healing garden, which is near the pathways that wind through the area. A labyrinth of a tree with two trunks helps calm those who walk through it.

Woodwinds Health Campus is a member of the HealthEast Care System, and is affiliated with St. John’s in Maplewood, a place we donated to earlier this year. See blog post here.

Learn more at http://www.healtheast.org/woodwinds.html

Woodwinds is located at 1925 Woodwinds Dr, Woodbury, MN 55125.

There are a few benefits coming up (or happening now) that Team Yarn is connected to.

BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR FIGHTING NEW BATTLE

The sister of Team Yarn member Stephanie Griffith has been fighting quite the battle in California. In May 2013, Stephanie wrote this:

"A month ago everything seemed to be going right for Kenzie Alexander. She was a vibrant young mother, fiancée and business owner who had finally beaten the two bouts of aggressive breast cancer that had taken so much from her in the three years since her first diagnoses. She went to the emergency room with leg pain and numbness expecting, like most of us, to spend a few hours in the waiting room and come home with a prescription.

"Instead, by the time she went to bed that night, she had lost complete use of her legs. Over the course of the next week, she also lost use of her arms. A month later she is still in the hospital recovering from this attack of Transverse Myelitis.

"Now, her entire life has changed.

"The doctors are telling us that with a lot of time and hard work she may one day regain the use of her arms, but her leg function is most likely gone for good. As you can imagine, the effects of this are very far reaching. She and her family need our help.

"The costs they are incurring from this challenge are staggering. They will need to relocate to a more disability friendly home, they need to buy a van that has been fitted for a wheelchair and they need to pay for her everyday care when she comes home. We are asking you to be her hero. No amount is too small or too large. Whatever you can give will make a difference."

Click here to donate: http://www.gofundme.com/32bcm8

AMY'S COUSIN

Deanna and Sapphire have both been treated at the Mayo this summer for the genetic blood disease they share.

Team Yarn is setting aside a few hats for the Spaghetti Feed Benefit for Deanna and James Angstman. Click here to view Facebook Album.

Deanna Angstman, Amy's cousin, planned a benefit for her brother Danny that Amy and I and our families attended in Webster, S.D. in June 2013. (Click here to view Facebook album.) We brought some Team Yarn hats then for the silent auction. Danny was diagnosed with leukemia last fall, and his daughter Sapphire got a bone marrow transplant this summer.

Well, Deanna also opted for a transplant this summer in order to address the issue before it turns into leukemia.

As you can imagine, it's been a tough journey, and she could use your support!

Deanna was diagnosed with MDS (pre- leukemia) in March 2013. She started chemo on July 15th, 2013 and had a bone marrow transplant July 24th. 

Deanna & James relocated to Rochester, MN on July 7th, since Deanna would have to stay there for the next several months to do her treatments and hospital stays at Mayo. 

The Saturday, Sept. 28 fundraiser will include a silent auction, as well as live auction, basket raffle, door prizes, pie auction AND spaghetti feed. It will be held at the Masonic Hall in Mora, MN. Everyone is welcome so please spread the word. If you would like info. Or to make donation of any kind feel free to contact Deb Anderson (Deanna's Mom) 1 320 679 4522 or Donna Anderson (sister) 1 320 438 0417.

MY COUSIN'S DAUGHTER

Meet Madi.

There will be a pancake breakfast fundraiser for my cousin Jami eMevissen's 4-year-old daughter, Madisyn , the same day, Saturday, Sept. 28 from 9:30 to noon at Northern Light Church, 6701 Highway 10, Ramsey.

Madi was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). SMA is a group of inherited diseases that cause muscle damage and weakness, which get worse over time and eventually lead to death.
Spinal muscular atrophy manifests in various degrees of severity which all have in common general muscle wasting and mobility impairment.

All proceeds from this benefit will go towards a home addition and handicap accessible bathroom. The breakfast is $5 a person and that will include 2 pancakes and a beverage. There will also be a silent auction and bake sale. Madisyn has to play her favorite game which is the cake walk. 

We will be donating a few Team Yarn hats for this silent auction, as well.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THESE BENEFITS THAT ARE CLOSE TO OUR HEARTS!

Wondering what's in store for Team Yarn this fall? We took some time during the August 2013 meeting to decide where our donations will go for the next few months.

AUGUST 2013 -
Hats and other items to Amplatz Children's Hospital

Update: We contacted Amplatz about delivering hats in August, and this was their reply:

"Thanks for thinking of us again.  The children are LOVING the hats you provided from the previous donation!  Due to the season, we are currently giving them away at a slower rate and don’t have much storage at the moment.  But please keep us in mind in the future, as I know they will go quickly as the weather becomes cooler."
  

SEPTEMBER 2013 -
Hats and other items to Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury, Minn.

Update: We will be delivering hats at Woodwinds on 9/10/2013. This was the response from the email we sent to them inquiring about their need for hats:

"Thank you So Much for thinking of Woodwinds!  I enjoyed looking through your blog and Isanti News article.  You are a treasure!  Our cancer care department can Always use hats!  We often run short of prayer shawls too even though we had a group that meets the last Tuesday of the month 6-8pm in one of our conference rooms."

OCTOBER 2013 -
Hats and other items to Harbor Room, Cambridge Medical Center. We will be dropping off items AFTER the October meeting. So, items donated at the September and October meetings will go to the Harbor Room.

* As this month will mark the 1-year anniversary of the death of Amy's mom, Cheryl Slater, we thought it would be nice to return to the Harbor Room, a place that helped her so much during her cancer journey. I (Tesha) plan to make a few items this month in Cheryl's favorite color, purple, as well.

NOVEMBER 2013 -
Work on shawls and afghans

DECEMBER 2013 -
Work on shawls and afghans

JANUARY 2014 -
Donate shawls and lapghans to Our Lady of Peace: Home, Health and Hospice in St. Paul, MN

* After the death of a loved one, certain possessions become keepsakes for those left behind, things like handmade shawls and lapghans. We would like to bring some last comfort to those who are dying, and also to the family members as they grieve. Towards that end, we would like to focus on making shawls and lapghans this fall/early winter. We will donate them in January 2014 and mark the 1-year anniversary of Team Yarn. Will you join us in this endeavor?

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate our meet-ups once a month. I just love sitting on the wide, covered patio there at Silverwood Park, working on projects and comparing notes. It's such a relaxing time. I feel like we are all together for a purpose, and that encourages and rejuvenates me.

Mary wasn't able to stay, but she dropped off a great hat!

Mary models her slouch hat. Cute!

I think we all felt this way when we touched this shawl!

Look at those great hats!

Kelli McCully teaches her sister Susie how to crochet. We are all willing to give lessons during our meet-ups. So don't let the lack of knowledge stop you from coming!

Susie's project

Amy works on her Cabbage Patch hat.

The finished Cabbage Patch Hat! Amy and her family came for the Team Yarn meeting from 1-3, and hung out at Silverwood for the rest of the day, enjoying the Roe Family Singer concert later that night.

This month's kids project was to build a mobile.

Team Yarn received a lovely Thank You card from Amplatz Children's Hospital! Your donations are SO appreciated! See for yourself...