The story behind the Kindred Spirits' limited edition mini- print, "The Invisible Net"

Sometimes a poem will come through me like a freight train and just needs to be written down…similar to how some of Leah’s paintings come about. (By the way, this is Grace at the helm right now! Giving Leah a little break from the launch emails. :)

We like to design a limited edition print with each new launch – a piece of art that is potent and pulls you in. Something you can display and look at often, that grounds you in the absolute miracle of life amidst all its hardships and complexities.

The print for the Kindred Spirits Collection features a poem that I wrote a few years ago alongside some magical art that Leah painted to accompany it.

If you’ve been here for a while, you might remember that our Dad was diagnosed with two rare forms of cancer just a year after Leah was paralyzed. As a family, we had begun to find our footing again and then were slammed with this news. Dad went from being a marathon runner to hardly being able to walk in a matter of weeks. A very aggressive brain tumor was wreaking havoc on his central nervous system and a different, completely separate tumor was growing in his abdomen. We had so much fear and uncertainty during that time.

During the period after Leah’s accident, I had turned to poetry as a way to process the events, the trauma, and the miracle that she was still with us. Somehow letting the words flow through me in the form of a poem allowed me to get closer to the root of the truth and gravity of the experience than “regular” words ever could.

The poetry had dried up a bit and then WHOOSH, it came back with a fierce power in the wake of Dad’s diagnosis.

Dad went through multiple rounds of super intense chemo along with a surgery to remove the tumor in his abdomen. But lymphoma almost always comes back unless you’re able to continue doing monthly chemo or stem cell therapy.

Dad was a good candidate for stem cell treatment…and then COVID hit. This made things particularly concerning because (in a nutshell), a patient’s white blood cells are essentially wiped out during stem cell therapy, then they are given back their own healthy stem cells. So the patient is INCREDIBLY vulnerable while these little baby stem cells wait to grow and multiply.

Dad’s amazing medical team all consulted and decided that, in spite of everything, the best course forward was to schedule the treatment for July 2020. If you or someone you love has ever had stem cell therapy, you might agree that it feels like walking on a tightrope. You CAN get to the other side of the chasm and also, you’re holding your breath the whole time.

(Actually, it was during this time period that Leah texted me the following image that she dashed onto her iPad 😅):

But graciously, miraculously, Dad got stronger with each passing month. His body repopulated with healthy cells. He started working with a personal trainer and got back to gardening. It was beautiful to witness.

A year after his stem cell treatment, our parents traveled back to Mayo and Dad got lots of scans and tests. His doctor looked over the results and Mom texted our family thread with the amazing news: Dad was cancer free. I immediately started crying when I read the news. WOW.

Quickly after my jubilation though, my head started to spin. “Wait. I think we’ve reached our miracle quota. A family only gets so many of those before the luck runs out, right?! First Leah was saved, now Dad has been spared…what happens when the miracles run out?”

I turned that question over and over in my heart. It was like polishing a stone, waiting for the answer to come. Then it arrived in the form of this poem. And now this poem is available for you to have in the vessel of an artful print and tuck into your heart as well.

(*The initial poem had a line that said, “Today it’s the declaration of my father’s healing…” However, Leah and I decided to change this slightly for the print to make it more universal: “Today it’s the declaration of someone’s healing…” There is SO much hardship in the world and I know that people are receiving crushing diagnoses daily…at the same time though, every single day, someone is also getting the “all clear,” the amazing news that the sickness has left their body. How utterly gorgeous and hopeful to remember this!)

You can purchase this limited edition mini print separately or get it as a free gift in your order of the Collector’s Edition for this launch. It is so vibrant in person and we trust that you’ll love it!

When you’re worried that the miracles might run out…or fear that they already have…may you remember that we’re always surrounded by them if we only have eyes to see.