Our Why
Every story has a beginning...
In September 2021, our daughter, 6 years old at the time, Annabella, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called a Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma. Her diagnosis was discovered after months of sickness that led to one doctor recommending an MRI to "rule out" a brain tumor. Her MRI was an outpatient procedure that would literally change the course of our family's lives forever.
The size of a small grapefruit, her condition required immediate admittance into the Pediatric ICU at East Tennessee Children's Hospital with brain surgery less than 20 hours later. Our world was turned upside down.
Bella's Blessings
Prior to her surgery and while in ICU, Annabella, the most unsuspecting brain tumor patient was putting on a fashion show for the nurses, strutting her stuff in her sparkly unicorn zip-up pajamas.
Awaiting the late night meeting with Annabella's surgeon, we were blessed that Jayme's best friend, Nikki, went to our home and literally scooped up any and all clothes she could get her hands on and brought to the hospital along with snacks, cell phone chargers and all the things we didn't realize we would need to have with an outpatient MRI.
Looking around the ICU, we saw other families that had traveled a great distance, some from other states, and they shared a sad, common denominator...they didn't have a local support system. Over the next few days, following Bella's successful surgical removal of her brain tumor, Jayme and I, with the assistance of our guardian angel, Cheryl (the magic maker) felt called to start an organization that will provide for families that have been unexpectedly admitted to the hospital. Bella's Blessings provides items and support necessary to remove the burden of worry from the family so they can focus on their child and recovery.
Appropriately, our organization is called "Bella's Blessings". Bella's illness was a terrible experience, one that we wouldn't wish any family to go through, however, when we were leaving the hospital, other families were going in. Just because we were moving to the next chapter of Bella's story, another family was at the beginning of theirs.
Our Company
"My Kind of Day" was born originally as "My Kind of Golf" in the summer of 2023. We were talking through different ways to raise funds to help families through Bella's Blessings and Jayme and I wanted to focus on golf tournaments. We quickly realized that while some don't enjoy golf like others, we needed to have a little bit more of a broad approach. "My Kind of Day" isn't just a brand, it's a declaration to make your day the day you want it to be. Similarly, "My Kind of Golf" focuses on making your time on the course memorable, fun, and above all, the way you want it to be.
Our Why
Our dream is for our children, Josiah, who is now 12, and Annabella, now 9, to have a project that they can always work on together. We want them to always work to bring awareness to families fighting not only all forms of pediatric cancer, but also to the families that must face any and all forms of the unexpected illness with their children. Bella's Blessings and My Kind of Day will one day be their's to run, but until then, it's a way our family works together to help others...to stand in the gap...to help others through their storms so they to can look back and share in "My Kind of Day".
For more information about Bella's Blessings or to learn more about her story, visit our Facebook page.