Here's what I submitted--
"My story is as much about a quilt as it is about a little boy. My life was forever changed by the birth of my fourth child. He appeared so healthy but over the first few weeks of his life it was apparent that there was something wrong. Liver disease we were told; terminal by age two if immediate palliative surgery is not performed; liver transplant is the only cure. My mind raced as we brought our once perfect son to the hospital. I hadn’t quilted or crafted in so many years with my young children underfoot, but as we left I grabbed some sewing supplies. I spent two weeks with my son at the hospital and began creating piles of English Paper Pieced hexagons in bright rainbow batiks. I cradled my tiny son in my lap and prayed and sewed and prayed some more. My hexagons became flowers by the time he was well enough to go home. My son recovered from the surgery on his liver but now had a 5 inch scar across his tiny abdomen. Beautiful imperfection, I thought. Just like my quilt. As my son grew, so did the quilt. His medical needs were very high, even at home, and over the next year he was in the hospital nine additional times for life threatening infections. Wherever he went, I went, and the quilt went. I held my son and prayed. I watched him sleep in the hospital crib and I sewed and prayed. When my world was spinning out of control and critical information was bombarding me from all directions, I relished the time to sit, be physically and mentally still, and sew. The quilt brought me peace and allowed me to produce something beautiful bound with threads of fear and anxiety, but also of hope and love. When my son was fourteen months old, and the quilt was big enough to wrap around his sweetly scarred body, he was finally listed to receive a liver transplant. For two months, both my son and I underwent countless medical tests. I was being evaluated to be a living donor. Much of that two month period was tense waiting…would he get another infection, when would a liver come for him, would I be a match? I think I sewed more on my hexagon flowers in those two months than ever before. As a full-fledged toddler now, my son knew “his quilt”, bright rainbow flowers and all. On July 11, 2013, my son received his new liver. Again, the quilt and I made another journey to the hospital. But this time I was unable to work on it because I too was recovering from surgery. My prayers were answered for my little boy and I was humbled and honored that I was able to give a portion of my liver to my son. Eight months later, my son and I are fully recovered. The quilt continues to grow and so does my son—truly beautiful imperfection."
And here's the kicker--I actually won! My story was one of three chosen out of over 1,000 entries. The prize was a very nice gift certificate that I am so excited to use!
