is inspired by Flora George, a 2 year old girl from Whitefish, Montana, with down syndrome. On April 29th, 2016 Flora had routine blood work after her two year check up. Two hours later, momma Ali got a phone call that would forever change their lives- Flora's platelet levels were extremely low & mimicked those of abnormal leukemia cells, they were ordered to go to the ER & needed to be flown that night to the closest Children's Hospital. That night, after 8 hours in the ER, Flora & dad "Bryan" were flown off to Spokane, Washington, while momma Ali stayed behind with 1 month old baby sister Lauren Poppy. After more blood tests & bone biopsies, the diagnosis was confirmed- AML Leukemia, which would require Flora to be in the hospital for intense chemo treatment approximately six months. Being that the Georges were far from any family members (they had just moved from West Virginia) to help, they were aloud to fly to University of Iowa Children's Hospital to be closer to Bryan's family to help them with the intense treatment and new baby sister. There have been so many people wanting to help the family, the next course of action was obvious... Making Flora's journey inspire other's to give back & help those going through a similar journey.
1. GO DONATE BLOOD! Flora will require many blood & platelet transfusions throughout the course of her treatment...
2. GO VOLUNTEER! Being in the hospital is challenging, (especially with a 1 month old & 2 year old)-it's nice when volunteers stop by and help watch Lauren Poppy so Ali can go be with Flora during a treatment or when she needs it. Or to watch the baby so she can get a breath of fresh air...volunteering at the hospital not only helps the staff- but helps the patients more than you know!
3. GO HELP! When families go through unexpected illnesses, there's other things besides people at the hospital that they worry about...there are pets at home(Flora has 2 german shepherds that have been kenneled while mom & dad our away), mail to get, other family members that maybe left behind that need to get to places. Go ask someone who maybe dealing with illness in the family if they need assistance letting their dogs out, picking up someone at the airport, carpooling a child.
4. What are you waiting for? THE TIME IS NOW! BLOOD IS NEEDED, VOLUNTEERS ARE ASKED FOR. HELP IS WANTED-- you CAN make a difference!