Our Story

Everyone who knew Lindsey would say she was a special person…everyone! She possessed a certain light and brought it with her no matter her circumstance. I suppose you could say the Light of Lindsey could never be extinguished…not even by cancer.

”Mom! I just got home from the student health center. I found a lump on my neck and they think it might be cancer. I need you to come. They are doing a biopsy tomorrow.” With sudden tunnel vision, “I’m on my way, honey.., it’ll be okay.” I don’t remember gathering my things or telling my staff that I was leaving, or even the 3 hour drive to Eugene. It was her 20th birthday, two days before Thanksgiving. Lindsey was an energetic, people-loving Sophomore at University of Oregon and here we were that next day, holding hands, “Yes, it is Hodgkin Lymphoma. It has a very high cure rate of greater than 90%,”…, (the rest, a blur.)

And so it began, a three year cancer journey. Lindsey was brave and carried us , family, friends and community through her journey with each posting to over a thousand followers on her Facebook page, “Lindsey’s Journey,” where she authentically shared her faith, her hopes, her fears and her triumphs and struggles, until it went silent in December of 2016. Jesus scooped up my sweet, courageous daughter, all 96 pounds of her, one week before her favorite holiday, Christmas.

She had fiercely loved others and multiplied joy with the simplest of encounters.

This cancer journey was full of pain and hope. It taught us the meaning of hurry up and wait. It showed us how to press deeper into our faith. Together, we survived the long commutes between our home and several big city hospitals. We lived through the inconvenience of temporary relocation for the purpose of treatment. We spent money we didn’t have and racked up credit cards to pay for hotel rooms and fast food. We endured long hours in waiting rooms praying that the results of the last scan or of another surgery would show promising results. There were tears…, lots of them! But there was more laughter than tears. We learned that cancer patients are cold…, always. And when there were no more words to be said, there was at least the reliable comfort of a Warm Blanket. Most of all, the long road instructed us in the ways of love. Loving each other was easy when we heard the words “remission”…, but was altogether something different when we heard the words, “terminal”. It’s been five years since Lindsey died. The pain and the grief are still as real and raw as they were the day she left. All grief is tough…, but child loss is the tiger of all grief!

At Warm Blankets it is our desire to love and serve you through your grief journey. If you are hurting, crushed, and lost due to deep grief, we would love to be there for you. If you are in the midst of a cancer journey of your own, we would like to serve you. Whether it’s providing you with a Warm Blankets Bundle during treatment, giving an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on, or providing help with food, gas and housing while being forced to travel, our goal is to help.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4

Much love and grace to you,

Jim and Jennifer