Phil's Friends

More Than Just Blankets

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We just wanted to thank you and Phil’s Friends for sending Chuck the Care Package. He really has taken a liking to that blanket! He is cold a lot from the chemo but thankfully he has not lost any hair.

A patient had called recently to let us know how much she had loved her blanket from Phil’s Friends. She has lung cancer and mentioned that, in order to breathe better, she often has to have the air conditioning on. The blanket helped keep her warm while the a/c was on and also for travel to and from the hospital. Unfortunately, during one of those trips to the hospital, the blanket was forgotten on the wheelchair and lost.

She called because she wanted to buy another blanket and our Care Package Coordinator was gracious enough to get some fabric and make one for her instead. So that weekend, Jackie and her daughter went out to buy some pink fleece fabric and they made another blanket for her.

Blankets are very important items that go into every Care Package that Phil’s Friends ships out. These are intended as much for comfort as they are for practical reasons. Every blanket is made from two pieces of fleece fabric that is then cut and tied by volunteers.

Hand-tied fleece blankets like this are so important both because of the impact that they have on the patients who receive them, and also because they can cost.

I was feeling down, and then…

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I came out of my hospital room to walk about and was feeling discouraged about my situation. Then I came across another patient walking about the hallway. We introduced ourselves and I asked him what he was in for. Lymphoma. He was here for his seventh stem cell transplant! And yet, he was in a very upbeat mood. He had his serviceman’s cap on to celebrate Memorial Day, and told me he was a high school science teacher prior to taking leave for treatment. He even mentioned how he writes a blog to his students every week to let them know how he is doing to encourage them.

We had a great walk together, and I told him about Phil’s Friends. After that visit I felt so encouraged! Seeing someone in a similar situation as I am and still, he was so positive through all of it! God places his angels in strange places sometimes, but He is always right on time!

~ Carolyn Boersma

 

Sharing Birthday Blessings

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Last week we celebrated with a Phil’s Friends volunteer, Maddy, who celebrated her 11th birthday! Maddy wanted to celebrate her birthday blessings by sharing them with others. In lieu of collecting gifts for herself, she asked her guests at her birthday party to bring a donation that would go to Phil’s Friends! When asked why she decided to do this, Maddy shared, “My grandma passed away from cancer and I wanted other people to not feel that way.”

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Remembering Kristie Wessel

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In memory of Kristie Wessel.

When Kristie fund-raised for a Phil’s Friends Walk for Hope in Columbus, IN in 2013, she wrote her testimony on her fundraising page. This year, that testimony was read to everyone who attended that same Walk for Hope a year after Kristie has passed. These were very encouraging words. Please read on:

On December 20th, 2010, my life changed—forever. I was told I had “some sort of lymphoma”. I will probably never forget where I was and what I was doing when I got that phone call. In January of 2011, it was officially diagnosed as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In that same January, I got my first Care Package from Phil’s Friends. Inside was a card, drawn by a little boy, just a couple of years older than my own son. He had written a Bible verse inside and it was none other than my confirmation verse—Joshua 1:9! Since that January, I have received many cards and much support from Phil’s Friends. It has been increasingly evident over the last few years how much God id in control—even when I feel like it is all spinning out of control. I seem to get a card or letter from Phil’s Friends at just the right time. They seem to pertain to just what I am going thru at that particular point in time. God most definitely has us all in the pal of His hand. One particular day when I was having a really rough time, I got a letter from Phil’s Friends in the mail with the Bible verse, Philippians 4:6-7 written on it:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard you hearts and your minds in Jesus.

I immediately taped it to my bathroom mirror where I could see this verse every day. It had since become a very important and meaningful verse to me!! I tend to recite this verse as I am getting test done or sitting in the doctor;s office awaiting test results. I could not imagine my life now without my Phil’s Friends friends. I have gotten so much encouragement and support from them over the last couple of years. I find it very comforting to know that there are others out there praying for me. Every card I get drawn by the kids makes me smile. I can only hope that others out there on this journey have the support like I have been given. Phil’s Friends, in addition to my family, my church family, and my friends is an HUGE part of that. I wish everyone traveling down this road could know Phil’s Friends like I have gotten to know them!! Please help raise money for this wonderful organization, so that even more people traveling this road can find the hope, the comfort, the support, and that peace—the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding.

Boy Scout Earns Big for Eagle Scout Badge

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One Monday evening back in March, a boy scout troop came into the Hope Center to pack Care Packages and color Cards of Hope for cancer patients.

One of the scouts, Nicholas, was moved by the mission of the organization. He was also in need of a project to get his Eagle Scout Badge. So he approached the group leaders with a unique idea to collect Care Package items and spread awareness for Phil’s Friends.

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Nicholas put together a plan to stand outside of five different Jewel-Osco grocery stores for five days — a different Jewel each day. He handed out the Phil’s Friends Care Package Needs List & brochures and then encouraged shoppers to grab a few items off of that list while they shopped the store and come back to drop them off as a donation.

Nicholas and his family were all smiles when they came back to the Hope Center with six large boxes of Care Package items, many gift cards, and over $3,300!

All of us at Phil’s Friends are moved by the generosity of others, excited about the creative ways to get others engaged, and encouraged by how much of an impact a young individual can make! Thanks Nicholas!

The Pieces Coming Together

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Every week we see a lot of volunteers come into Phil’s Friends eager to serve. Even though we’d love to, we unfortunately don’t get to meet everyone. However, we do occasionally get to know some of the individual volunteers who frequent the Hope Center. And with volunteers like these, we just can’t help but feel like they’re family.

One of these volunteers is Sue. I first met Sue when she visited the office unannounced some time ago. She wanted to bring a group of volunteers in from a church down the street, St. Walter Catholic Church. I had mentioned to Sue that a group of ladies would come to the Hope Center once every month. Sue’s eyes lit up. You see the ladies were part of a widows group. Sue shared with me that her husband passed away two years before. Since then, Sue has been a committed volunteer and we’ve enjoyed getting to know her more and have appreciated all of the great work that she has done to help bring hope!

A couple of months ago, a friend of Sue’s called our office and shared that Sue was in the hospital. More than that, we found out that Sue had been battling cancer for almost two years. But she never told anyone. After learning this, the staff at Phil’s Friends joined in prayer for our friend and packed a care package to send to her. We’ve packed them before but the experience is so much different when the care package is going to someone you know so closely.

I heard back from Sue and she expressed her thanks for the care package. She is doing well. As we talked, she shared that she is happy that she is now open about her battle with cancer and hopes that she can use this journey to share God’s love with others. She keeps her Phil’s Friends bookmark near her bedside so that she can share the mission with everyone she encounters.

The box and blanket that was packed for her had a picture of a puzzle on them. Something she would often say was that, “life is about having pieces of the puzzle come together.” And would you believe it, we had no idea! But God did. He knew exactly what box and blanket would have an impact on Sue. God has a plan for all of our lives. We are grateful for the way in which He is using Sue through her battle. And we are so grateful for the blessing that Sue has been to everyone here at Phil’s Friends!

~ Lauren Coleman

 

Being Hopeful in the Darkness

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I’m sitting alone in my hospital room and not feeling well. I am wondering what the purpose of this all is. And that’s when God shines a light into the darkness!

My night nurse came in and started asking me what Phil’s Friends is all about. I got the chance to tell her about the Hope to Hospitals program and the mission of the organization. I gave away cards and even directed her to the website. And to top it off, I had the blessing of meeting a fellow believer!

So even in the darkness, when you don’t feel like being very hopeful, you never know where God wants you to roll out the welcome mat.

~ Carolyn Boersma

 

Selfless Giving on Golden Birthday

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Here is an awesome story that we at Phil’s Friends are both extremely proud of and so very grateful for!

Meet Lindsey Bickelhaupt.LindseyB

She just had her golden birthday and rather than asking for gifts for herself, she invited 15 of her fifth-grade friends to a Phil’s Friends themed birthday party and asked them to bring donations. Wow! How awesome is that!

Lindsey and her dad stopped by on Thursday to drop off the donations. They collected:

  • 13 blankets
  • 12 lip balms
  • $145

When they were planning the birthday party, Lindsey’s mom suggested that she could ask for donations to go to a charity. Now, let’s just be honest for a moment. Suggesting to anyone that they should ask their friends to donate to a charity instead of getting them birthday gifts is presenting a considerable challenge of selflessness. But Lindsey rose to that challenge!

When asked about what she thought of it afterward, she said, “It kind of felt good because I’ve never done that before and I also didn’t want to feel selfish on my golden birthday.” Well all of us at Phil’s Friends think that this 11 year old rocks! So thank you Lindsey for your selflessness and for helping to bring hope to those affected by cancer!

 

God’s Timing

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Since being diagnosed with cancer for the second time and going for outpatient chemotherapy at that Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, I have had time to reflect on one of the possibilities of why God has allowed this to take place (although I certainly can’t know the mind of the Creator!).

I was convinced that I was serving Him in the right place on the inpatient blood cancer floor at Prentice Women’s Hospital, where Phil’s Friends’ Hope to Hospitals program delivers care packages to the patients. However, God had a different plan in mind! For the last two years we have been discussing how to bring the Hope to Hospitals program to the outpatient department at Northwestern. But we did not clearly see a way to do that.

When I began going for outpatient chemotherapy, God provided the opportunity for me to speak to the manager in charge of supportive oncology about the Phil’s Friends programs, something that would never have happened if I weren’t physically there receiving chemotherapy.

This must have been God’s timing because through that conversation, God has opened the door! We now have the opportunity to bring hope to thousands more patients there, providing them with Care Packages and Cards of Hope, and showing them Christ-like love and encouragement. It’s incredible to be a part of God’s work for the cancer patients at Northwestern, and to see Him get the glory!

~ Carolyn Boersma

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