A Couple of Things You Can Do

When we told Ben about Ellie dying, one of his first questions was "Will there be a stone?"  This was a bit awkward as we are not burying her in a cemetery and not having a traditional funeral.  While in the hospital, I just could not envision a funeral where everyone would wear BLACK--Ellie's least favorite color and sitting quietly.  Ellie would never have attended such an event (she would not have been able to NOT talk) and so it did not seem a fitting way to honor her.  We have had an autopsy performed on her body so that the hospital can learn as much about her as possible.  After the report is written, there will be a conferance at the hospital to discuss and learn.  We felt it was a fitting tribute to Ellie since she has spent her life teaching in so many ways for that to continue even after she is no longer in her physical body. 

At Ellie's hospital, American Family Children's Hospital, they currently have a fundraising campaign.  You can donate money and buy a fish that will have Ellie's name on it displayed on the surgical floor.  We thought if any of you were interested in sending flowers, this would be a better way to continue to spread Ellie's joy.  We also thought it would be fitting since she spent so much time at the hospital and so many people love her there.  If you are inspired to participate in this, please send your check made out to American Family Children's Hospital to us (e-mail me at debibetsi@yahoo.com for where to send it) and we will collect them and present them to the hospital.  The hospital will then send you a reciept for tax purposes.  This will give not only us a place to go and remember Ellie, but all of the wonderful professionals who worked with her.  To find out more about the fundraiser go to http://www.uwhealth.org/childrens-hospital-donations/go-fish-for-american-family-childrens-hospital/27323. 

Also, we were averaging about 40-50 hits a day on my blog at the beginning of this month.  Then it went up to 90.  Then it climbed to 800 on Tuesday, when my cousin, Lecia mentioned me in her blog (www.leciawphinney.com).  Yesterday I had 1,000 hits.  My sister would like to have 6,000 hits on my site and when she said that I thought, "Now THAT would really be spreading the Ellie joy!"  So feel free to pass on my blog info to anyone you feel so inspired to inform.