No one can imagine what it feels like to be diagnosed with cancer, unless you’ve faced the same diagnosis or watched someone you love be diagnosed. Cancer was the HARDEST thing I’ve ever had to endure. And I had very little control over the outcome. The one thing, and to me it was a BIG thing, that I did have control over was my attitude. I chose to be optimistic. I chose to believe my outcome was going to be a ‘cancer free’ ending. I also chose to share my experiences with cancer through social media and blogging. I felt extremely loved and supported. It was my family, friends and neighbors from all parts of my life that help me up and cheered me on. As you can imagine when I came to the end of treatment I wanted to come up with a way to say ‘GOOD BYE CANCER!’ I felt like I needed to DO something so I could find closure to this fight. My original idea was to make 17 chemo scarves, one to represent each of my seventeen chemo treatments. I had made a few handmade scarves for myself during treatment. I figured it would be too hard to whip up 17. I told my friends and family my idea. Many of them donated fabric so I could meet that goal. I ended up with enough fabric to make over 60 chemo scarves. Not too much time passed after my donation of 17 chemo scarves that I dreamt I was donating free chemo scarves all over the United States. I woke from that dream with the strongest impression that there were women unlike myself, who had little to no support while they were battling their chemo experience. My dream became reality. CK Scarves was born in the basement of my West Jordan home. I feverishly made scarves from donated fabric, created a logo and began collecting contacts in all 50 states. My plan was to mail 10 chemo scarves to the state contacts, they would photo document the scarves arrival and delivery to an infusion center in their town. In September of 2015 I mailed my first allotment of packaged scarves. This project took time, but with that time came healing for myself as I sewed. I was able to accomplish my goal of mailing 10 scarves to all 50 states, I even shipped scarves to Australia and Canada. In March of 2017 I mailed my final 5 states.
What was my purpose? To offer HOPE, to someone who needed it. To give HOPE to someone who just needed to know from someone who had traveled the road that good days were ahead, and they weren’t alone. And I continue to do that, just on a smaller scale now. Cancer taught me that life is no life unless you LOVE and SERVE others who are dealing with the same hard times.
Upon completing treatments, I resumed volunteering many hours in my kids’ classrooms. That eventually led to a part time job as a paraeducator in a special education classroom. In 2019 I switched jobs and now work as an office manager for a construction company.
I love that my chemo brain is healed, my body is healed and that I get to live with more purpose.
I am flattered to receive this recognition. For me it not about aspiring for special recognition, but aspiring to change women’s lives by offer HOPE through a scarf!
