Why Mandalas are Great at Helping You Relax

Mandalas: July 17, 2014 

What are they?

Mandalas are a round circular item that is used to aid in meditation. They usually are used in the Hindu religion for meditation but Cancer Support Community at UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health it is used to help patients and caregivers relax before or during their appointments and procedures.

How do they work?

It's actually a lot easier than it looks. All you have to do is color on the sheet of paper provided. Yes, that's right color!

You pick the colors based on what you would like more of in your life. 

Red: strength, high energy, and passion

Pink: love, intuition, and femininity

Orange: creativity, transformation, self-awareness, and intuition

Yellow: learning, wisdom, laughter and happiness

Green: physical healking, psychic ability, love of nature, and caring

Blue: emotional healing, inner peace, meditation

Purple: for all thing spiritual

White: spiritual focus

Black: mystery, deep thinking and individuality

You then focus on where and what you want to color and only that. Just let your mind guide you and pick which colors you want where, setting your intention such as wanting to relax. You can play music and relax! I ended up drawing the photo below. Here is a link to a color page: http://www.colormandala.com/

The Ugly Truth Parents of Children with Special Needs See

I stumbled upon a message from one of the mothers of the children I follow and it broke my heart. I normally don't always get a chance to read the longer messages but this one really grabbed my attention. She talked about one of the visits to her child's doctor and how ignorant one of her fellow patrons was towards her child.

I should start out by saying that this child has down syndrome and was sick and needed to be seen by her specialist. While waiting in the waiting room a little boy saw her daughter and attempted to make her smile only to be admonished by his mom not to play with her because Eve was 'different' and 'strange'.

To the woman in the waiting room'..... Every week I go to the waiting room, patiently waiting for my daughter to be seen by her specialist and nurse. Some weeks are good and I walk in happily. Some weeks are hard and walk in sad and worried. 

But every week we are there. 

This was the first time I had seen you and clearly, you had seen my daughter and I. This week my daughter had been very sick. I was worried and stressed. I was trying to keep a brave face with her and laugh and smile, playing games and signing.

This time you gorgeous son came over, grabbed the pram and started smiling at Eve and myself. We both smiled back. But you were horrified. The look you gave my daughter was a look of disgust. You grabbed your son and told him not to go near us as 'she was weird looking, don't ever go near them'. 

Maybe it was my exhaustion. Maybe it was my stress. But yes I got angry. I raised my voice and pointed out what you did. This made you so uncomfortable, that you took your son outside in the cold and waited out there, rather then be near us.

My daughter is a human being. She is a little girl who laughs and cries. She plays, claps and loves kisses and cuddles. Yes she has down syndrome. No she doesn't look weird. She looks like my child. She is my child. 

Your son didn't see her looks. He saw her smile and laugh and wanted to be involved. He didn't see her as different or weird. All he saw was a mummy and daughter having fun and playing.

Its people like you, lady in the waiting room, that will make my daughters life difficult, because you see what she looks like, rather then who she is.

But hopefully, people like your son, will be the ones that treat my daughter with respect, love and acceptance. Because your son, accepted my child without knowing her, without knowing her disability. I pray you can learn something from your son. Acceptance is everything.

From Eves mummy

This comes from the facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/4-Our-Eve/248476085287634?fref=nf

5 Reasons Why I Like The FIFA World Cup

I know... The first thing you're thinking is what does this have to do with crocheting and helping children and adults with life threatening illnesses, you'll see:

1) Gives me a chance to sit and crochet uninterrupted

Honestly,  one of the biggest challenges I have is time. I am a college student and work full time to help make money not only for bills but to pay for materials. Any chance I can to sit, I crochet or work on something for Kitten's Needle Work.  And the World Cup gives me 2 hrs of crochet time!

2) It's Exciting

I know it's not as high scoring as the other sports going on but guess what? When those players do get a goal, they are the most excited people I have ever seen. The passion spurs me on and I love celebrating with them! Plus I can look down at what I'm doing and not get too distracted until a goal happens.

3) Great Energy

The excitement of the fans is amazing! Great for me and I can feed off that as I work on these items. I love being able to have good energy around me as I work. I try to pour love into the items.

4) I'm cheering for USA!

USA has a young team which for some reason makes people think they aren't contenders. I love cheering for the underdog in general and I love it when they prove people wrong! I want the US to prove that we are a force to be reckoned with and not to count us out!

5) The stories behind the teams are inspiring

I love hearing about the teams and how hard they had to work to get where they are. I love seeing their triumphs ( even though US is gonna win *cough cough*). That is something I need to see to have hope for these kids and to keep hope alive as I work. God is a big source of that but positivity helps too.

I know there's a lot of controversy around the games and it's location but there is some good in it. And in a negative world sometimes you need to focus on the good!

Plus I was able to make these coasters to try to raise funds for more materials! They're 10 for $12 or 10 for $10  if you subscribe to this blog! If you would like them, send a comment to me saying yes and I will message you!

Inspiration: What and Who Sparked Kitten's Needle Work

I believe that breakthroughs only come after a breakdown and hitting rock bottom. Rock bottom doesn’t mean necessarily being poor or on the street with nothing. It could mean that a dream you’ve had your entire life doesn’t pan out and you have to start over. And it doesn’t even mean you’re a failure. Just that there’s a new beginning waiting for you in the form of a breakthrough.

My breakthrough came in the form of and angel named Spencer.

My whole life, I dreamed of being in the medical field. First, my dream was to become a doctor. Then, it was to become a nurse. And then, I bumped it up to nurse practitioner. I finished high school and went straight to college to become a nurse. I got into the program, sailed through the first semester and started the second. The second semester turned into the nightmare that started my breakdown.

I went in fully excited. Ready to take it on in stride. I was nauseous and sick most of the semester and needless to say I failed clinical and barely passed lecture. I fought and got to take a second semester and at the start hand an endoscopy and colonoscopy and found out I was diagnosed with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. I stilled trucked on through trying to go along with my dream but I failed again. I couldn’t retake it again, unless I started back on the waiting list for nursing school and started all over again. I was too sick to go on. I even lost my job during that time as a cashier due to my illness and having to call out.

Then, I learned about Spencer.

Now, I should start by saying I never met him in person. I only knew him as a friend of a friend. My friend Mike heard my situation and added me to a group of people who are praying for each other during rough times called, There’s Always Someone To Catch You When You Fall. It is a great group on Facebook that I just followed and only read and prayed for people. I never really posted but I did watch in my pity. And then I remembered Mike sharing a post about Spencer and how he was dying from cystic fibrosis at age 22 and needed a new pair of lungs. To me that was too young being 21 myself at the time. I started sharing the posts too and reading his wife’s updates about him. He was sick yet praying for children and others who were sick. He wasn’t laying there wallowing in self-pity, he was being kind to others and praying for them. He couldn’t leave his bed closer to the end but he would check their Facebook pages and pray for them!

Who was I, in fact, how dare I lay there in self-pity! He didn’t say it to me, but it convicted me to get out of myself. And the best thing I could do with my illness is show kindness to others who do have illnesses that are chronic and life threatening. Irritable bowel syndrome is chronic but not deadly. I could have a normal life. And I could live a life that helped bring a smile to the faces of others who had life threatening illnesses and chronic illnesses.

Spencer died from his illness. But those last days stay in my mind to this day, him still praying for others, him still wanting his wife to read to him and tell him about those who he had watched for so long. To me, he was an angel. He was meant to bless and touched the lives of those who came in contact with him. He touched the lives of many. The posts of those who followed him until the end spoke of story about how deeply his kindness impacted lives. He brought them out of dark times with his prayers and his love for people who were sometimes strangers. And he left a legacy. He started a spark that shouldn’t be ignored for me.

Paying it forward......

So I started following those kids, which lead me to more. And then I wanted to make something for them. And I remembered that I knew how to knit and crochet. And the rest is history. But it was all sparked by Spencer. It all came from me losing what I thought mattered, and gaining something so much more beautiful to me. And as I make the items and pray over them, I remember Spencer and his love and prayers for others.

By Alisha Louicius

Contact me: kittensneedlework@gmail.com

Welcome! Three Things To Know About Kitten's Needle Work!

Just wanted to say Welcome to Kitten's Needle Work! We are here to make a difference in the world of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. We want to put a smile on all of their faces. We have a lot planned in store for Kitten's Needle Work. This is the beginning of something new here at Kitten's Needle Work. So to start things off here are a few things to learn about Kitten's:

1.     The items we make are by hand.

The items, which include hats, blankets. and scarves, are either crocheted or knitted by hand. The items are made by Kitten's Needle Work itself. They are made with yarn and then sent out to the children waiting for items. 

2.     ​The idea of Kitten's Needle Work came from the founder's nickname.

Alisha has a love for kittens and a few of her friends like to call her Kitten. And since Kitten is the one making the items, we called it Kitten's Needle Work!

3.     It started in memory of someone who passed away that touched Kitten's Heart.

In another blog entry we will talk about it in detail, but there's someone who touched Kitten's heart so deeply with the way he cared about other's despite his own life-threatening illness and felt the call to honor that memory.

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To The Mother's of Children with Congenital Diseases, Birth Defects, etc: It is NOT Your Fault

So, most of you do not know that I follow a lot of pages for children who have severe chronic illnesses, whether congenital or developed later on. I read them daily and they are a blessing to me in so many ways. But there is something in them lately that I need to clear up to all the mothers out there who are sharing their journeys:

IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT

Not all of you say this, but when things get worse, you guys seem to look at yourselves as the fault of these conditions. When really it isn't your fault. You carried these children in your bodies and kept them as safe as you possibly could until they came out in THEIR own time. You are strong whether you realize it or not and you stay by their sides until someone calls you to take a break and a rest and even then I know most of you end up right back next to your children within a few hours.

You have your moments when you break down, and who wouldn't but you pick yourselves back up after a cry and a sniffle (maybe a scream) and put a smile on your faces and be the best mommy and best support you can possibly be. You demand the best care, ask for second opinions, third opinions, and do everything you can to keep your children safe and as whole as they can be. And I know from the pictures you try to give them some form of normal.

You ladies are beautiful. It is NOT your fault. Never ever your fault. And I wanted to say this so you would know. So that you could have an unbiased stranger tell you that it truly isn't your fault. Your children if you were to ask would call you the best mother ever because you are there. And your presence makes them feel a little better even when things seem to be going wrong. There are other women and people who would have given up by now and you haven't, not truly.

So please be strong and know that you are are not at fault. And you are absolutely amazing.

Lukas's Journey

Child of the week: Lukas

Lukas was born August 11, 2011. Five days after he was born, he was to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. His organs had already begun to shut down. After numerous tests they found out he had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome or better known as HLHS. In HLHS, the left side of the heart – including the Aorta, Aortic Valve, Left Ventricle and the Mitral Valve are underdeveloped. This was not found in utero. 

To fix this 3 surgeries are needed.  The first, the Norwood Sano Procedure was done August 29th, 2011. The surgery performed by Dr. Rebekya was completed in about 4 1/2 hours, and was then followed by 3 attempts to take Lukas off the heart & lung bypass he was on during surgery. Lukas came out with a very long road ahead of him. Over the next 9 days he would then be on ECMO (form of life support) and from there it would lead him down a long road of complications.

 Some of the post-operative complications that Lukas has had to overcome have included a hole in his right lung, a chronic collapsing left lung; poor kidney function resulting in needed dialysis, and lastly a stroke which unfortunately led to damage in the right cerebral hemisphere of his brain. This portion of the brain controls abilities such as moving, tasting, touching, hearing, seeing, behaving, and thinking. However there have been a number of Doctors and Nurses, commenting on how resilient babies are, and how their brains can re-map themselves. 

Signs of this is already showing. He has hemiplegia which means that one full side of his body has paralysis. For him it is his left side. He seems to be recovering little by little. His family credits his progress to the Grace of God. I have watched this baby fight and prove over and over that you shouldn't believe every prognosis you hear.



You can visit his page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pray-For-Baby-Lukas/245854215452721


Send him some happy thoughts and prayers.