Nora Benjamin's Story

03/08/2026

Good evening everyone!

It’s only been 1 week since we put out the wishlist for our 3rd annual fundraiser and once again the items are already piling up! 🥰 The joy it brings not only the patients and their families, but to us as we continue to grieve our sweet girl, there simply are no words to do it justice! Thank you for continuing to support us and our cause! 💜

03/07/2026

What an honor it was sweet girl! 💜

I am honored to grieve you forever.

The emptiness I feel day in and day out..

Is because the love you filled my life with.

The pain I feel when reality of you being gone catches up on me..

Is because even after quite a bit of time it still doesn’t seem real.

The uneasiness I feel about the future..

Is because I dread planning things and you not being there for them.

The smile that appears on my face when someone tells a story about you..

Is because each time your name is mentioned… it brings you back to life for that very moment in time.

The sadness that creeps up on me when I see a certain place or smell a certain scent..

Is because I just want you back so bad it hurts.

And. I still need you.

The anger that sometimes catches me by surprise..

Is because I still don’t understand why such an amazing person had to leave a broken world.

You made the world better.

Even though grief is so hard. The hardest thing I ever had to go through.

I am so honored to grieve you.

Because you are loved.

You matter.

And will always be remembered.

Until my very last breath.

03/02/2026

Don’t forget to look at this year’s wishlist for OU Children’s Heart Transplant Center!

💝🏥😇💜

02/28/2026

Below you will find the communication from between me and Rachel, one of the social workers! You will also see the list we worked to put together AND you will see some examples of potential purses we may have for our purse raffle this year. I don’t know that we have spread much of the word on the purse raffle before. But anyone can participate. We will raffle off at least 2 purses. I will draw live on her bag and ship the purses directly to you! I will get you more information and actual photos of the purses once I can decide on which ones we want for this year 😊!

Each year we have done a bakesale and purse raffle to raise funds to go towards, last year was homemade gowns and left over items on the list. We were so incredibly blessed that the gowns were made and donated out of the goodness of their hearts so all the money was able to go towards purchasing the remainder items off the wish list. It made all the difference! I believe we ended up spending approximately $250-$300 out of pocket, leaving not a SINGLE item on the wish list that year!!! It was an UNBELIEVABLE accomplishment for us! We cannot wait to see what this year brings everyone! Thank you so so much!

02/28/2026

💜 Good Morning Nora’s Warriors 💜

It is upon us 🥰! This year’s fundraising and donations in honor of our silly, sweet, loving and painfully missed Nora Leigh has finally arrived! I was able to get in touch with a few of the resources at OU Childrens hospital earlier this month and with their help we were able to circulate past years wish list with some of the patients and families, along with the staff!

We have been so incredibly blessed that this will the 3rd year in which we will be able to give back to OU Children’s Heart Transplant Center! None of this would be remotely possible without every single one of you! I sincerely mean every bit of that! This is all because of you guys!

Down below I have the Amazon wish list pinned to her page. As well as my personal page! We ENCOURAGE you to please share! Even if you can’t participate this year, if you have the chance, please at least share her story! We love seeing new people join along throughout this journey! We are reaching new people every year!

You will also find the correspondence between the hospital and showing that some of these items have truly been a blessing to some! The last thing added is the list of items that was compiled between myself, staff, patients and families. These items are specifically requested and extremely helpful! The “highest” priority items are marked as such!

But please let me say this, if you yourself or a loved one has had a similar experience and can think of something or know of something that could benefit, by all means feel free to DM me and we will make sure it’s something they can receive and I’m sure it would be a great addition!

Again I cannot put into words how meaningful this is to us as a family! Nora was such a caring, loving, little free spirit! I often get drawn back to our daily laps around St. Louis Children’s hospital. How she would be so encouraged to walk those laps so she could see the babies and see her friends and smile and wave. She even met a nice boy who had the most encouraging things to say to her. This was the best part of her day! So to know that all throughout the year we’re able to give a “little wave” in her honor of Nora and bring a smile to that exhausted patient, that scared family member, or the nurse who has watched them through their entire journey… That is what this is all about!

🤩💜🏥📋💝🎁

02/27/2026

Good evening Warriors!

Thank you all for being so patient with me, as it’s taken longer than expected to get the wishlist put out! I finally finished ediiting the list. There are a lot of the same items that were populer over the past two years and a few new items per requests and recommendations!

I’ve honestly been procrastinating a little bit this year because I haven’t been able to put into words what I wanna say with the post! Its hard to repeatedly feel like you’re saying or asking the same thing over and over. It’s hard to truly express how important this is to us and the patients and their families and it’s difficult to express how unbelievably lucky we are that you all continue to show up and make this even remotely possible!

I will post the updated Amazon wish list, the communication between the hospital and myself, along with the updated list put together by patients, family and staff! I will have it posted here, along with on my personal page as well. I have spoken with a few others already about the gowns getting made again and thank you all! I will also be reaching out to a few others to see if we can get help again with the logos on the cups, bags and blankets this year!

I look forward to another year and another opportunity to give back and put some smiles on few faces! 💜😇🏥🎁

02/04/2026

If you get a chance to take a moment and remember our girl and pray for all those who have a 💜

Today we pause to honor the memory of all of we've lost. You are forever in our hearts. You are our motivation. Our work is your legacy. 🤍

01/31/2026

Hello everyone! I know I have been MIA for awhile, the holidays were a little rougher this year!

HOWEVER, it is that time of year again! I am reaching out to the hospital regarding the donations they could use this year and have already started putting together her Amazon “Wish List” with some of the things I’m sure they could always use more of! This means soon we will be organizing another bake sale and a purse auction to help raise funds again for any needed materials for the gowns made (which were absolutely perfect) last year! Remaining funds will go towards anything left on the “wish list” and if we are blessed to have any left it would be a monetary donation to the hospital!

Those of you that helped with gowns last year, if you are interested in helping again, please let me know! I have a friend at work who knits hats for the babies, so things like that are always welcome as well!

Thank you everyone for always supporting our cause! Thank you for being patient, when there isn’t much activity. And thank you for all the well thoughts, wishes, prayers and love sent this way! We are always and forever grateful for each and everyone of you!

It still blows my mind looking at the growth from 2024 donations to 2025 donations! Here’s to another great year of giving back! 💜🏥😇

06/03/2025

Today was the BIG DAY! We finally got to deliver all the goodies to the hospital! It’s the perfect way to honor our sweet Nora! She was so loving, giving, so so NURTURING, compassionate, sweet and kind! She had the BIGGEST heart of any child I’ve ever known! So giving to the patients and their families each year not only honors her precious memory, but it also brings us much comfort!

I knew we out did ourselves this year, I knew we were able to provide so much more, BUT I did not realize how much more we were able to donate this year until looked at the photo from last year side by side with this years…

I mean WOW! I don’t know if you all realize that we could not possibly do this without you guys! I mean every single person who contributed, I’m just so thankful! Thank you to those that made it possible to add gowns this year! Thank you to those who helped me put logos on everything (which by the way multiple people loved and were even interested in having their own cup or blanket)!

I’m so overwhelmed, this has been a tough couple of weeks, but to finally see the outcome of what we’ve been working on for months is beautiful. I’m lost trying to find the words to truly express how grateful we are, but I can’t seem to find them!

So again, thank you everyone for continuing to support us and her memory! Thank you for always sending your love, thoughts and prayers!

Thank you! 🥹💜👼 🏥

(1st photo is last years)

05/27/2025

05/25/2025

The only thing I forgot in the video is the bedding/sheets and that’s because they are in the laundry room ready to be washed! 💜