Always have hope...

Three days befor her September 12 Painting a Stroke of Phenomenal Hope event seventeen year old Lauren Johnson was interviewed on her local Fox TV station.  Lauren's mom, Melissa, sent a link to the video
www.okcfox.com/newsroom/morning_news/videos/vid_221.shtml

I was struck how well Lauren did in the interview.  At the end, the interviewer asked her how she dealt with her PH.  Lauren, who was diagnosed at age 3, said, "Always have hope."

When I landed in Oklahoma City, I had a note from Melissa.  Lauren was in the hospital with a line infection.  After all that work, no one was sure whether she could attend!  By the time I got to Edmond on Saturday, the word was out.  Lauren was coming on a four hour pass!

The event was great.  Family and friends and her support group were there to support her.  Volunteer painters were doing painting on-site. Later, their work was donated for a live auction. Kids were in another room for a carnival.  The support group was running a Pucker Up for PH booth.  Lauren took to the stage to thank eveyone and build PH awareness...and her younger sister gave a great speech about her sister.

When I got back to PHA, I found this quote from Lauren's mom in an earlier article:

"She just amazed me because, you just look at her, and her face lights up. She has a passion for this and you've got to have a passion to really make a difference."

I couldn't agree more.