After my little TV segment was rescheduled..... then postponed.... and then rescheduled back to the original time slot again I finaly got to see it myself! I had been very curious, INCREDIBLY anxious (Even at the advanced age of 62 I have at least a little vanity and much of the footage was shot right after I'd had surgery....) and rather frustrated at the end, thinking that most of my friend would have been so fed up with all the schedule changes that probably no one would see it at all!

So I sat there in front of the TV and all of a sudden the person on the screen was ME. I felt that the story focused too MUCH on me - and not enough on the actual Fairy Nana PROJECT itself - adn not nearly enought on the children. In fact they never even mentioned that we are looking for volunteers nation wide to join as Fairy Nanas or Fairy Godmother or GodPapas (Godfathers just somehow has a whole other meaning!) Still - it was fun!

So if any of you still want to see it and have not (and missed the 7 bazillion hints and messages I sent out) you can still view it on your computer by going to:

www.king5.com

Then click on EVENING MAGAZINE and look for the Fairy Nana story under videos.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PELASE if you can, email the show after you view it and let them know you want to see more stories like this - or that you'd like to see more about the Fairy Nana Project. Here is the address:

r.swanson@king5.com

Hugs and fairy dust....

The Fairy Nana

Tommy...This one's for you!

So----instead of tuning in your tellies....try tuning in your computer to:

www.king5.com

Then click on EVENING MAGAZINE and follow the links to the Fairy Nana Project story.

And once you have viewed to your hearts content - please feel free to send the station a positive email about the story! (in fact the Fairy Nana will cast quite the spell on you if you don't.....just how many toads DO you want on your doorstep tomorrow morning?)

Just kidding......or perhaps not.

see you on the red carpet next year!

eve

The feature is about the Fairy Nana Project - which was original my simple project to make and deliver 50 fairy costumes and 50 super-hero and prince costumes to Children's Hospital in Seattle.........but which has now taken on a life of it's own because the hospital has now started a Guild named the Fairy Nana guild to host fairly spectular fundraisers and to organize a team of fairy costumed volunteers to visit the patients (most of whom are suffering from life threatening diseases) and read them stories, etc.

The last portion of the feature was filmed this past week. The guys from the television crew picked me up (well not literally - the came and got me in their van) and took me to Children's Hospital in Seattle (which is about 70 miles from where I live.)

The entire day was a mixture of emotions - incredibly sad to see children suffering such terrible diseases....so many of them with such tremendous courage and incredible cheerfulness that you simply could not believe it. It just broke my heart over and over again. When I arrived - all decked out in my faerie costume - huge wings and faerie crown....there was a contingent of little children -many of them pushing their own I.V. poles - all dressed up in the fairy costumes I had made for them- waiting down the hallway. When they saw me coming they started running towards me, smiling and reaching out for me! I was nearly swept away! I knelt down to be at their level and was surrounded in no time by  these little fairies waving their little wands and calling out "Fairy Nana!" to me. I have never felt so good about having made fairy costumes in my life as I was at that moment!

The rest of the day we saw children who were far more ill than those who first greeted me..some of them far too ill to even life a hand...one could barely open her little eyes - they were so puffy from the medicines she was taking......I wished I could stay longer with each of them - but I was not allowed to - and of course, they needed their rest...it just made me want to go home and made a thousand more costumes.

The people a t the hospital know about the new FAIRY NANA Guild and have asked if it would be possible for us to arrange "Fairy Visits" now on a regular basis - because of the "magic" it created with the children.

It looks like I am going to be organizing a team of fairy nanas in costumes!

It WAS magic  I really saw it happen. I somehow felt as if all the faereis of my childhood were there with me and the kids. Little faces that lit up when I showed them what to do with a fairy wand.... and little hands that I put magic fairy coins into and then showed them how to close their eyes and make a wish while the fairy coin got warm inside their hand....and then open their eyse and release their wish to the universe......I watched them learn to do this and believe in the magic.  It was incredible. I know it couldn't cure them...but it did take their cares away for a little bit....and that in itself was magic.

Every one of us on this site understand something about this magic. And every one of us has the power inside of us to share what we know with someone else who needs a little boost....

That's what I'm going to ask from all of my friends in EF now....because I've just seen what it can do:

Please go out tomorrow and find someone to share a little of that magic with. For the Children.

Hugs and Fairy Dust for all of you....

There are to be lasting side effects - unavoidable - but simply consequences of having to remove so much of the bone of three vertibrae in order to access the tumor, as well as having to remove tumor attached to nerves that are both motor and sensory in  determination. I will always have weakness and limited use of my left arm and hand. I will always have nerve pain in my neck, and left shoulder, arm and hand. I figure it is a reasonable trade and one I can live with. In the recouperative phase they have put me on lots of corticosteroids which seem to have stabalized my vision for the time being.

You just never know when or where a silver lining may show up.

Just prior to my surgery I was contacted by a regional TV show - one that's been on for about 25 years now - that features regional people and places of interest. They wanted to do a story on the "Fairy Nana Project" - my working on 50 faerie costumes for Children's Hospital in Seattle which I had hoped to deliver in time for Christmas. One of their personalities and a film crew came out to interview and film me but because of my surgery schedule,  delivery of the costumes cannot be done now until after the holidays - so they will complete the filming in January.  During the delay a lady from the hospital contacted me to let me know they wanted to start a guild - a non profit foundation at the hospital named after me called the FAIRY NANA FOUNDATION so that other women (and men) could join and continue my "work" after I could no longer see or use my arms well enough to sew. I was stunned - and I felt incredibly honored. It was exactly what I had worried the most about - who was going to make the costumes for the children if - or when - I no longer could.

It will be a while before I can strap my wings back on - It looks like I have a big zipper down my back from inside my hairline down midway my back....but at the moment I've got lots of cool pain drugs - don't think I need the wings to feel like I'm flying.....

I'm getting tired now and need to go back to bed. I just wanted to check in with my friends at EF and let you know how things were going and give you the good news update. So many of you have been so kind with words, photos, and thoughts that have meant the world to me.

I love this site. I love you all.

Fairy Dust for everyone!!!!