There is a 9 year old boy who has terminal cancer, and is not expected to be around much longer. His parents have decided to celebrate Christmas early this year, so that the boy, Jacob, can have one last Christmas. They have asked people to send Christmas cards. You can read the article here.
I read this article, and thought Jacob and his parents might like to receive something a little beyond the traditional paper card. It says in the article that Jacob really likes penguins. So I created a card out of some proofgrade maple. The front of the card has 4 “penguin knights” that I found on thenouneproject.com. The back has an engraved “Merry Christmas” and a Christmas tree I cut out of walnut. I also made a nice box out of draftboard, and a little spacer (with an engraved penguin) so the card would lay flat in the box.
And here’s what the whole thing looks like put together and ready to ship. I used some cloth ribbon to make hinges, and that same ribbon and some velcro to make a little closure. The ribbon looks purple in the previous photos, but that was removed and replaced with this red ribbon.
EDIT: I am posting this not to show off my rudimentary lasering skills, but rather in the hopes that this will inspire others to send something to Jacob. The address is in the article linked above. It needs to get there before this weekend.
That is my hope; that it will be something more durable than a paper card, that they will be able to look at in the future, as a remembrance of their child and maybe a small bright spot in what I am sure is almost an unbearable sadness.
Thank you for sharing this part of Jacob’s story. This post gives me a great way to find more empathy and compassion in a world that definitely needs more of both.
Though it makes me wonder about other kids in ICU/sad situations during the holidays. Might be cool to do some sort of GF holiday card/gadget drive. I’d be happy to burn an afternoon and a bit of proofgrade on a project like that.
And @mhumphrey, I hope that doesn’t come off as stealing your thunder or anything like that. It’s so kind of you to reach out to this child. Would love to do the same for other kids if possible.
Not my idea - I’m just leapfrogging off of your good example
I have been thinking on this, and trying to imagine how to connect with kids/people in need without being intrusive or weird. Some thoughts that I considered were reaching out to ICU’s, retirement homes, and shelters. Again, just not sure how to do so without sounding like a weirdo.
While I was pondering, a friend posted this on Facebook:
My friend’s dear daughter is in the hospital recovering from surgery. She has CF and isn’t recovering quickly from the surgery as hoped. Can any of my friends send her a get well Love card?
I have never known an ICU, Palliative Care unit or Retirement Home to turn away someone who genuinely wants to bring a little connection or sunlight into their world.
Also bear in mind the Care Staff.
When we first started out with Care it was to provide (non-denominational) meditation retreats for the Primary Care staff.
I don’t know. I’m going to make time for it this weekend, just to err on the side of caution.
This is an excellent point. A good friend of mine is a social worker in the bay area, and when the fires hit, she went in to overdrive (both through her work and volunteering her own time) gathering and delivering donations, gift cards and love to those affected. She is still doing a lot of work in that community, and one of the things that she/her peers have been talking about is the critical importance of support and self care for people in the medical and MH fields <3
