Survivorship Day at Lowell General Hospital

I would like to thank Meg Lemire of Lowell General Hospital for asking me to be a part of the hospital's Survivorship Day Celebration this evening. I continue to meet so many incredible staff members, nursing staff from the cancer center, and patients who have the most amazing stories. It is such an honor to be a part of such a wonderful group of people and organization who are making such a difference in people's lives. Survivorship Day honored just that, Survivor's being treated at Lowell General Hospital's Cancer Center. First there was a raffle drawing which Sierra and I were asked to pull out the winning raffle tickets which consisted of prizes such as a framed autographed flag from the Lowell Devils Hockey Team, a Facial Gift Certificate, a Hair Care Basket, a Mountain Bike, an Autographed Celtics photo, just to name a few. Each person attending was given a beautiful hand crafted heart pillow with breast cancer symbol patterns in all varieties, which was especially dear to me as Breast Cancer Awareness is my platform. The survivors were introduced by their nurses to share their stories with us. I was so proud of Helen Sullivan, a Stage IV Breast Cancer Survivor. Helen and I met at LGH's TeamWalk Open House earlier this year, and have run into each other since at several events leading up to TeamWalk. Helen represents exactly what my platform stands for and shows the hope and courage each patient diagnosed needs to have to fight a cancer diagnosis. Her spirit and will to fight and live life to the fullest is so touching, and I am so happy that our paths have crossed and that we will have a friendship for a long time going forward. Another inspiring story was by a woman named Katie who is from my hometown of Chelmsford. Katie is a two-time breast cancer survivor. The first time was when she was 21 years old and in college. She was forced to attend a human body well-being class by a friend, and this class eventually saved her life. The class taught her how to do breast self examinations. After finding something that didn't feel right, she made an appointment with her doctor which eventually turned into a Stage I Breast Cancer Diagnosis. The class saved her life not once, but twice as later on in life she was diagnosed yet again, this time as a wife and mother. These stories go to show that awareness and early detection do save lives. The evening ended with everyone receiving a battery operated candle, the lights were dimmed, and we had a candle ceremony to honor all the survivors of cancer. Thank you to everyone for allowing me to be a part of this special evening and to be a part of your lives, you have enriched my year as Mrs. Massachusetts with your courage and love for life and inspire me to continue bringing awareness to your cause.

Take Steps for Chron's & Colitis of Boston Walk

I had a beautiful afternoon at the Take Steps for Chron's & Colitis of Boston Walk with my family at the Boston Common. We attended this walk in honor of Sofia Sobczak who is six years old and has Chron's Disease. Team Sofia raised $1,300 and today's walk raised over $200,000 towards helping with treatment and research for both Chron's and Colitis. To learn more about this organization and also about Chron's and Colitis, please visit the CCFA website at http://www.ccfa.org/.

New England Cinderella Pageant

Memorial Day Weekend I got the opportunity to judge the New England Cinderella Scholarship Program. This program is designed for girls ages 2-26 and competitions included personal interview, party wear, casual wear, talent, and on stage questions. I was so impressed with everyone during the personal interviews, especially the young children. They were so spontaneous and conversational, it was wonderful to see the world through a child's eyes. The talkent portions for the Teens and Women were equally impressive! Congratulations to all the winners, and Michele Stevenin for putting on a class act program! Wishing you all the very best of luck in Texas in July at the Cinderella International Finals! Also, thank you to everyone for celebrating my birthday with me and allowing my family to be a part of this weekend with me too! Sierra even go to meet Cinderella and Snow White!

Best Buddies

I want to thank Brooke Bibeault, Miss Massachusetts Teen USA, for asking me to attend a pizza/ice cream party with the Best Buddies group she has been working with. This was my first experience with this organization and certianly not my last. The kids were just so fun and genuine, and I loved spending time with them, especially sitting in circle time and hearing everyone's name, favorite ice cream, and if they were going to be a part of Best Buddies again next year, and of course the answer was YES!

Relay for Life of Burlington

On May 21, I was part of an amazing event, the Relay for Life of Burlington. This appearance was very special to me as it brought me back to the town that I grew up in and the football field which I graduated high school on 22 years ago. It was an amazing feeling to speak to a crowd filling the football field and lining the track as the Mission and Advocacy Chair for the Burlington Chapter of Relay for Life with the American Cancer Society. I was able to share my mother's story and talk about how I became involved with Relay for life as well as talking about the wonderful programs such as Hope Lodge and The Look Good Feel Better that are offered by the American Cancer Society to patients in treatment and their families. I was also at the Mission and Advocacy Table which had numerous pieces of literature about all the programs as well as having a skin analyzer machine which drew huge crowds from kids to adults. Congratulations to the orgnaizers of this event for raising over $88,000 for the fight against cancer! I want to thank my fellow Massachusetts Queens who came out to take part in this event with me. Chistina Polanco, Miss Massachusetts Junior National Teenager, Tamara Sacharczyk, Miss Massachusetts Teen World, and Monique Jones, Ms. Massachusetts United States. I also want to thank my high school friend, Maureen Polson for being so super supportive of this event and so many others, and for coming out and working the Mission and Advocacy Table with us. Now its off to my own Relay for Life to be held in Tyngsboro on June 12.

Queen for a Day - UMass Memorial Pediatric Visit

On May 19, I was invited by Jennifer Salvitelli, the Massachusetts Director for the Queen for a Day Program, to visit the Pediatric Unit at the UMass Memorial Hosptial in Worcester, MA. Queen for a Day was started by Jenna Edwards, a former Miss Teen All American, Miss Florida America, and Miss Florida USA. This is an amazing organization that has chapters nationwide for groups to visit with children in pediatric units and take part in reading, playing, and fun art activities. Attending with me was Brooke Bibealt, Miss Massachusetts Teen USA. We met with children from the ages of 2 all the way up to 21. Some of the visits we had to put on a full outfit of mask, gloves, and smock. It was incredibly rewarding to see the smiles that we put on these children's faces as well as that of their parents. One young man in particular was actually asleep when we came by, but his mom woke him to tell him he had some special visitors, and the look on his face was priceless. Being a mom, I certainly had a soft spot in my heart for this visit as it made me appreciate Sierra and her health even more so and makes me realize how lucky we are. I look forward to having many more visits like this as it is one of my most favorite appearances thus far as Mrs. Massachusetts. I love children, and if I can make just one child smile, then it was so worth making the visit.

LGH TeamWalk for CancerCare

Finally, May 16, the day that Lowell General Hospital has worked so hard to put on the TeamWalk for CancerCare! What an amazing day with weather, and the enthusiasm of all the volunteers and walkers. I am truly honored to be part of this amazing event as the Honorary Chairperson and to speak at the opening ceremony and then to lead off the walkers on the 6 mile walk along with my daugther Sierran and husband Rob. We did this together as a family and it was incredible to see how many families were right along with us. I applaud all the LGH staff who worked so hard on this event and thank all the volunteers and walkers who made this walk a success. TeamWalk raised over $716,000, that is amazing, and the funds will go right back into the community for the patients and families that need assistance during their treatments at the Lowell General Hospital Cancer Center! I know that I will be back next year again to work with this amazing organization and event!