4/2/16 - UPDATE! Here is a link to our Amazon wish list, where you can order items and they will ship directly to us. Thanks again for supporting Sawyers Art Drive!
http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/28Z0FAWUGNAMB
Here is the scoop on "Sawyer's Art" for those who are just taking part this year:
In May 2013, my husband and I welcomed our first baby - a sweet boy named Sawyer Joshua. Before he was born, he was diagnosed with a very rare heart condition known as Tetralogy of Fallot with Absent Pulmonary Valve Syndrome - in English terms - 5 different heart defects that would possibly cause some pretty serious issues after birth. We didn't know much about the condition or how it would affect him but after he was born it was apparent that it was very serious. He was immediately transferred to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta where he underwent open heart surgery at 13 days old and over the next 5 days underwent several other open heart procedures. Unfortunately after the first procedure he was put on ECMO (life support) and at just 18 days old we had to make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to our sweet baby boy this side of Heaven.
While at Egleston we were surrounded by an amazing group of nurses, doctors, etc that really tried to help make our stay the best they could despite the circumstances. I spent my first mothers day with my very sick baby in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) and it was a rough experience to say the least. I had not ever envisioned I would have spent any Mother's Day that way. Yet, the child life specialists at Egleston made sure I had a sweet picture with my baby and a card from him. I also remember walking from the waiting room to the CICU and passing by what I would call a "fun room" for siblings - full of books, art supplies, etc to make life easier for those kids who had a brother or sister at the hospital. I knew after Sawyer passed away that I wanted to give back to the hospital that allowed us those 18 days with him, and collecting art supplies for the child life specialists was the perfect opportunity!
The child life specialists help make the hospital stay easier and as fun as possible for the children in the hospital and their siblings that come to visit. This is our THIRD (!!) Art Drive and I am really hoping that it will be the biggest one yet! You can drop off donations with any member of the Anderson/Davenport/Murphy family! We are accepting donations from April 1 (TODAY!) until May 29! We will be taking the donations down to CHOA on May 30. Per hospital request, the donations must be of new art supplies. The flyer I will post below has recommendations for donations - but really ANY art supplies will be awesome and put to great use!
Help us continue Sawyer's legacy by giving back to the hospital that really gave us so much in those 18 days with him. Please let me know if you have ANY questions or want to meet up to drop off donations! Thank you in advance and please share with everyone so we can make this donation the greatest year yet!
Here are some pictures of us with our sweet boy Sawyer!
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| The sweet Mother's Day card I will cherish forever! |
Here is the flyer for this years Sawyers Art Drive!
Thanks all!
Ashlyn
