Layla Grace Foundation

This posting is hard for me to write because I don’t know where to start first.  So I’m just going to start…….bare will me if I’m all over the place =)

Last year on March 9^th when I logged into my Facebook page I was just looking for random friend updates, maybe a few wall posts and a friend request or two.  However, as I was scrolling through my updates I came across a link that one of my friends had posted.  I can’t remember the exact words from the link but something about it made me click on it to see what it was all about.  At that moment I had no idea that a little girl named Layla Grace would change the way I thought and would help me put life into perspective almost on a daily basis.

This is what I learned that day……

A little girl named Layla Grace who was 17 months old had passed away from Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, which is a rare form of cancer typically found in infants and toddlers.  At the time I read this my daughter was 15 months old so I was immediately drawn to the story simply because I had a little girl nearly the same age as Layla and all in one second I thought ‘that could have easily been us!’  I guess you just don’t think about that stuff when you have a child.  I mean you want them to be happy and healthy but you really never think of cancer in children, at least I never did.  To me cancer happens to older people since that is how I have been exposed to the horrible illness.

Anyway at some point during Layla’s journey her parents, Ryan and Shanna created a blog and a twitter account in an effort to document everything and to keep friends and family updated.  Slowly the story was everywhere and they had  over 40,000 followers and both Ryan and Shanna were featured on news shows and various radio shows to talk about Layla. Although I didn’t know about Layla until the day she passed away I quickly fell in love with this family and sat down one night and read their entire blog.  Needless to say I sobbed through most of it.  At one point I put down the computer, went into Kennedys room, pulled her out of her crib and just held her and thanked God that I had her and that she was healthy. And honestly I still do this every now and again because at certain moments I just need her in my arms and I need to smell her and feel her breath on my neck and kiss those sweet lips and simply cry because I am so blessed.  I swear it’s when they are sleeping that you realize how lucky you are to have them in your lives.  However, when they are screaming at you ‘NO MOMMY’ in the middle of top foods because you won’t let them old the EGGS I’m not really feeling ‘blessed’ if ya know what I mean. 

After Layla passed Ryan and Shanna decided to turn this horrible journey and heartbreaking ending into a positive by creating the Layla Grace Foundation.  Their website is fabulous….besides the fact that it’s about childhood cancer.  They have amazing articles, stories of different types of treatments, things to expect, various fundraising opportunities and so much more.  I still find myself looking at their website several times a week just to see what they are up to.  And although I’m not able to contribute to their fundraising and I’m not able to help out at different events since they aren’t local, I can still try to spread awareness of what they are accomplishing.  Please feel free to visit their site at http://www.laylagrace.org/ or click on their logo on the right hand side of my blog and you will be directed to the official site…..it’s simply amazing and inspiring!!

Today, almost 1 year later I still have a picture of Layla in my office. 

Her sweet face reminds me not to take moments with Kennedy for granted because other parents, like the Marsh’s don’t have that option anymore. The Marsh’s don’t get to trip over Layla’s toys as they are walking through their house.  They don’t get to fold her tiny little laundry anymore. They don’t find her favorite books in the middle of the hallway anymore.  So last week when I was annoyed about prying off Kenney’s play doh from the bathroom wall that left a pink stain I remembered ‘this is a memory….ENJOY IT because some parents don’t get these memories anymore!’ 

Layla has touched my life very deeply and I can honestly say I have been changed since being introduced to her and her family.  I keep tossing the idea around of another tattoo and I keep going back to the word ‘Grace’.  Not just because it would remind me to try to live my life gracefully (because let me tell you I need some serious reminding in this department) but it would also remind me to stay in the moment and be thankful for the beautiful and healthy daughter I have (which on some days I REALLY need the reminder).

Note: I have tried to tell this story exactly the way it has been explained on their blog so I do apologize if I got anything turned around or out of order.