Ella's Blankets

People keep asking us why we have decided to start an organization. I guess it all started the week Ella passed away. I kept thinking how I needed to do something to help the other babies that were still in the hospital...they were Ella's friends and I needed to do something to make those long hours, days, weeks, months a little brighter for them. I am not sure if it was my way of grieving or if I just needed to keep moving. But I went to a fabric store and went crazy buying fleece. All different kinds that I knew Ella would have loved....or at least Ryan, I, and our nurses would have liked. I bought princesses, Twins, flowers and trucks.

The next day Ryan and I brought all of those blankets to the hospital and met up with the nurses. You should have seen their faces. They looked as if I brought everyone Christmas gifts. It was the best feeling in the world. One of the nurses said, "Every time I see these blankets, I will think of Ella Jo." I cannot even write into words what that made me feel like. I just melted and we knew we had to do something like this again...but something more.

So, later that night Ryan and I went home and started brainstorming. We had ideas one right after another for things we would love to provide to the NICUs here in the metro. I guess we didn't realize that what we wanted to do was a difficult process. If starting an organization was easy everyone would do it...right?

We are trying to figure out what the right path is for us so that we can keep giving back to the people who have touched our lives. It is the one way we can still feel close to our little girl, a way for us to find peace knowing that our family’s difficult path has lead us to help others, and that Ella's struggle won't be forgotten.

Providing cute, fun blankets is just one of the few things we want to do with Ella's HALO. I know it doesn't sound like much but sometimes it is the little things that mean so much. I can still remember walking in to see Ella after her nurse just got her a clean pink blanket and put a cute little matching pink bow in her hair. Ella knew she was all dolled up, you could just tell. When your baby is sick, in a hospital surrounded by machines, and the only thing you want to do is provide some normalcy for your baby...tucking your little princess in at night with a pink princess blanket just makes things seem a little more right, a little more hopeful, and a little more like home.