A new year ...

[AndreaWilson_Founder]

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Blue Faery's Liver Cancer Community. If you don't know me, I'm the president and founder of Blue Faery. I started the organization in memory of my sister Adrienne, whom I raised from age eight until she died from stage IV HCC at age 15. Her death was over 20 years ago.

Today, I'm feeling sad. I wish I could say the death of a loved one, especially a child, gets easier, but it doesn't. You learn to live with the loss. A friend once compared it to losing an arm. If you lose a limb, you don't get it back. You figure out how to manage your life moving forward.

And that's where I am today. Managing. Sort of. Allowing myself to cry even as I sit at my desk and work to improve the lives of HCC patients and families. I want all of you to have what Adrienne and I could not find: support, hope, and a voice.

Since Blue Faery now has four full-time employees (counting me), I have more time. I plan to be more present in the community. I want to get to know all of you--even the silent lurkers who may need help but are afraid to ask.

For me, 2024 marks the 23rd year without my sister. Even typing those words seems strange to me. It cannot possibly be true. But it is.

I wish you good health and much happiness in the new year. But if you need to cry, go right ahead.

💙Andrea

Photo: Summer of 1995 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles

[DancingEyes63 Moderator Caregiver]

I believe that there is no time frame where loss stops hurting when it's someone we really love. Losing a child is a loss like no other. No matter how long it's been the loss is just as painful. You have made such a difference in so many lives. I know Adrienne is so proud of the way you are honoring her memory. She's sitting there with Manda and Jimmy smiling down on us. Adrienne with her blue hair and Manda with her pink. ❤️❤️❤️ Love you my friend.

Sharon ❤️

[scbauer77 Caregiver in reply to DancingEyes63]

Dear Andrea,

Thank you for sharing Adrienne's story, and I am grateful for the work you champion in her honor. Your work matters, and I also appreciate your candor in how it feels, even years later. For me, those we love are part of our hearts, and when they leave our hearts are truly broken and have scars. The scars make those parts of hearts stronger and become part of our stories, if we allow them. The Blue Faery Community has made a difference in my life, even as I met you after he died. Here is a quote that has meant a lot to me this year, and my mother shared it after my father died.

With deep gratitude,

Sarah

Haruki Murakami quote on storms

[AndreaWilson_Founder Partner Editor Caregiver in reply to scbauer77]

Thank you, Sarah. Such a beautiful quote. I try to remember, "It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years." ~President Lincoln

[AndreaWilson_Founder Partner Editor Caregiver in reply to DancingEyes63]

Thank you Sharon.