A New Year
January 9th, 2008 by Simone 
This bracelet is a birthday present for my friend Jessica and a salute to her family. On October 5th 2005, after he had just turned four years old, her son was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Last week, Spencer’s mediport was removed signifying the end of his chemotherapy and a huge milestone in his treatment. As Jessica wrote:
.. after 778 days,
approximately 200 pokes of a needle,
over 2,000 pills,
countless doses of tylenol,
anyone’s guess as to how many I-V drugs and fluids,
hundreds of thousands of prayers and wishes,
and at least 250 trips to the hospital,
I am so very very very very happy to announce that this extremely brave, tough, amazing little boy is completely finished with chemotherapy!!!
The bracelet is inspired by the red Relentless bracelets Spencer’s family and friends have been wearing to support him and anyone else fighting this disease. To put it together, I collected anything red I had in the house; new beads, old beads from jewelry I bought on a trip to Taiwan 21 years ago, charms I received as presents, glass, potato beads, sterling, clay, and metal. I then started making loops to attach all these treasures while listening to the book Jessica selected for our book club.
Happy Birthday Jessica!
January 9th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Beautiful bracelet! I especially love what it represents.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Nice one, Simone. Beautiful story.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
What a touching Birthday present, and heartwarming story
January 9th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Oh my. A 4-year-old on chemo. I had a boyfriend who had leukemia and so did my grandfather. It is dreadful and I’m sorry to hear this boy and his family have gone through it. My little boy had 4 open-heart surgeries before he turned 3. The thought of a child going through so much is so painful. Sounds like Spencer is a brave one indeed!
The bracelet is beautiful and so thoughtful.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
That is such a beautiful and thoughtful gift, truly inspired. Best wishes to your friend Jessica and to her son for his continued recovery through 2008.
January 13th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
My friend’s 4 year old has just finished chemo, too. She says that it is so wonderful to have freedom and to get to worry about the little things again. I’m sure your friend will cherish this gift.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:33 am
I found this blog on a recommendation on my gmail rss feeder. I’m in the middle of reclaiming the 4th bedroom in my house as my craft room. Right now it’s HORRIBLE, but getting better. I also just tried to freecycle some babyfood jars. No takers. What on earth would I do with all those baby food jars? A friend gave them to me and there are almost 60 of them!
Hey! Those button jars you have! What a SWEET idea!
Right now, mine are in two tins from the 70′s. The lids are hard to get off, I can’t see what’s in them, and I forget about them a lot. I think I’ll screw the lids onto an existing shelf and fill the jars with a rainbow like you’ve done!
I’m searching all over the internet for ideas on creating order out of chaos (and 13 moves in 10 years is chaos to my craft stuff)
Thanks so much for the pictures and the idea
January 16th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Gorgeous bracelet!
February 11th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I LOVE this bracelet! Do you sell them or do you know where I can find something similar? I’d love to feature it on my shopping blog!
Thanks!
March 11th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won’t make you cry