hearts for laura slocum

there are many of us who have faced and are yet to face large challenges in our lives. it seems that these obstacles come when we least expect them or want them. some obstacles require great courage and much support from family and friends. some of you may know laura slocum-- i have only known her through the treasuries on etsy. i have used some of her sweet light filled water colors in a few of my treasuries- she also creates vibrantly colorful jewelry in her other etsy shop creativelytangled

from what i know of her, she is loved by many, has a wonderful kind spirit, a great sense of humor, she is energetic and creative--she has a beautiful family and many many friends!

laura as it turns out was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. it had been in her family. needless to say she is now faced with many hurdles and challenges. chemo, and surgery to name a few... many of us are familiar with cancer and have either had to deal with it ourselves or to help a friend or family member through their ordeal.

laura has many friends on etsy--some she has known since she started her shop and some who she will just now be discovering... kim, aka slinkymalinkicat, along with amy from peachtree are two friends who wanted to do something in support of laura. they have launched projectetsyembrace. this is a group effort that includes any and all who wish to participate. the focus is to raise awareness and money to donate to the american cancer society on laura's behalf. you can donate proceeds from one or more items from your shop -- you can choose a % to donate or a full amount-- it's up to you. most important-- please send your loving thoughts for healing and recovery to laura-- we can all do at least that much!

here is a message that laura wrote regarding her experience:

I believe that you must play the hand you’re dealt. Six weeks ago, I was diagnosed with stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. My mom died from the same. I am a huge believer in eating right, exercising, and getting regular checkups. I’ve done all those things, yet, I have cancer. WOW. That’s a life-changing situation, for sure. I just turned 46 …. (a very very young 46!) Strangely, I feel blessed. Most everyday of these 6 weeks, I’ve had a smile on my face. I’m going to play the hand I’ve been dealt in the best and most positive way I know how. I’m so fortunate my boys are older, they drive, they can do laundry and help around the house. There will always be some people in this world who have it better and some who have it worse. That’s just life.

I’ve been an Etsy addict since around this time last year, when I started doing treasuries. My sister Jenn, of jennreese7 and my niece Kelly, of SweetnessJewelry, are also crazy about Etsy. The one thing I’ve learned in the past year is that Etsy has made it a point to have their competing sellers be friends through promoting each other in the treasuries. That sounds kind of funny, but, on the quest to have the “coveted” FP, we create treasuries, we comment on other treasuries, we “convo” people all over the world to congratulate them on their successes, and we make friends. Aren’t we supposed to be competing for sales?? Well, maybe some things are just more important than sales. From the moment I had a diagnosis, while still in the hospital, my Etsy friends were first on the scene – building treasuries just for me, wishing me well, offering advice, sending gifts, and a few have gone so far as to donate proceeds to the American Cancer Society in my
honor!! Just to remind you………these are people ....I’VE NEVER MET! They have completely gone out of their way to be a friend or try to put a smile on my face. I now even talk to some of them on the phone! Now, I’m not talking 2 or 3 friends, I’m talking like 30 or 40! Some people just have checked my profile and offer words of encouragement! The first day that we learned about my chemo and all the ‘ins and outs’, the ‘goods and bads’, etc., my husband went online to search for support groups. He said to me that night, “I will never do that again, I was so depressed that I had to get off the computer” I said, in reply, “I don’t need support groups, I all need are my friends on Etsy”! They lift me up on a daily basis.

It is Sunday. Tomorrow morning, I will leave my house at 7:30 am for my first round of chemo. I will have an IV drip for about 6 hours and be home around 5:00 pm. I will do that again on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday. then again on the following Monday. I look forward to 8 months of that chemo schedule, followed by another year of some form of maintenance chemo.

There are 4 things I know for sure:
1. I am a Christian and I believe God has a plan for me.
2. I believe in myself to do the very best I can do and try to help others in the process by getting my story out there.
3. I have the most wonderful and supportive husband, family and friends.
4. Logging onto Etsy everyday and hearing from my friends will keep this smile on my face, not matter what I am going through.

If you would like to be a part of etsyprojectembrace you can donate the profits or percentage of profits from one or more listings to the American Cancer Society. Add the tag 'etsyprojectembrace' to the listing (or listings) and mention the project and reason for it in your listing description/s.

If you have any questions, or any ideas as to how you could help further then please feel free to convo kim at slinkymalinkicat, or Amy at ThePeachTree.