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Nana Grams
By Cindy Guthrie

If you know a family that needs a NANA Gram, please EMAIL ME their address and their gift from home will be on the way.

My name is Cindy Guthrie, and this is the story of how NANA Grams came to be.

1997 was a good year for me. Of course, at the time, it just didn't feel so good. Let me begin by telling you about myself. I am married and have five children, three girls and two boys. My husband and I own a construction company. We do not build houses, however: we build highways and bridges. We started this company and I just knew it would be successful. I am not quite sure why I felt so strongly about this but I did. I knew that my husband knew exactly what he was doing.

By the time 1997 came around we had been in business approximately five years. In August my husband had a heart attack, our daughter Amy was due September 15th and our daughter Suzanne was due October 28th. When Marlon came thru his heart attack we were excited about the impending births of our grandchildren. Our daughter Amy gave us Amanda on September 15, 1997. We were very excited and enjoyed the time we had with her as we waited excitedly for Suzanne to give us our second grandchild.

Well, we finally got the call that Suzanne was in labor. We set out for the 5 hour trip. I had another nagging feeling to call the hospital, but I decided it must be my imagination. I asked my husband if he didn't think that we should call the hospital. Marlon said no, that we would be there shortly.

Photo: Marlon with Harlee

When we arrived at the hospital we found that Suzanne had given birth to our granddaughter Harlee, but there seemed to be a problem. They weren't sure what was wrong, but there seemed to be a problem with her feet. Her little feet were born with no skin, they were black.

That is when it started. The tests, the speculation, the unfounded diagnosis, the fears, the tears and the support of one another. Then finally came the biopsy.... then the first mention of EB. When the medical professionals don't have answers, instead of trying to appear human and admitting it, they choose to scare people to death. We as a family were scared on several different levels. As a parent there is nothing worse than watching your child go through so much pain and not being able to do anything about it. But, to watch your grandchild endure such pain was more than I thought we would be able to stand.

We searched to find out as much as we could about EB so that we would be able to support our daughter and her family. There was one thought that I kept having. We were so lucky to have each other and to love one another as a family unit. As a family we would do anything we could to help each other. How lucky! I cannot help thinking about other families. What if they needed someone? What if there was no-one to give them the support they needed?

Photo: Harlee with her daddy Eric

This is why NANA Grams was started. There are not too many people that wouldn't like to hear from their NANA. I thought that if I could get the addresses of some EB families that were in need of a little bit of that love, that I could send them a gift from home. A gift from the heart. Even if they did not know me or my family they would know that tehre were people who sincerely cared and wanted to help.

After I started NANA Grams, I thought, Okay, this is why we have had so much success so fast. Not only we were supposed to have the ability to help our children, but also we were meant to be able to help the children we have all over the country. To me that is the true meaning of being a NANA. There is always enough room in her heart for more babies. No one ever gets too old to be loved by his or her NANA. I have my daughters and granddaughters to thank for helping me realize that I could be a NANA to anyone that would let me.

In the Photos below:

Harlee with her mommy Suzanne

Harlee with her mommy Suzanne and her Grandpa Marlon

Living with
Epidermolysis Bullosa
by Silvia C. & Brenda G.

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