NZGBA – New Zealand Glass Bead Artists

Bianca started collecting her Beads of Courage when she was diagnosed with leukemia beginning June 2007.  When she completed her treatment in September 2009, she had around 1,300 beads (including some very special glass beads that were specially made and donated to the Child Cancer Foundation) and on the 11th of September 2009 Bianca got to string the most special bead ever – a special purple heart to celebrate the end of treatment… read more

Simply put, the Beads of Courage programme is the most amazing initiative ever.  Bianca loves showing her beads to others and last year she asked her teacher if she could bring her beads to share with her class and she read a story to them about what leukemia is.  The kids were so excited and so interested in what each bead represented.  They loved trying on the necklaces and it made them feel special that they got to share in this moment.

I guess that is one of the most amazing things about the beads – it is such a visual thing, people instantly get a sense of what the child cancer journey involved and in a way it helps them understand.  It is one thing telling them some of the things your child went through, but when they actually see it all strung together, that is simply mind-boggling.  And for us, it tells a story – that no matter how difficult the road was, it is a testament of how very brave and amazing our daughter was and is.   It is something Bianca can keep and one day when she is an adult, she would be able to share it with her children and grandchildren and tell her story that it is possible to live life despite cancer. 

When a child has cancer they are suddenly thrown into a world where they have to endure one unpleasant and sometimes painful treatment after another, there are no options but just to go ahead with it and whilst at first a sticker or a lollipop could help a child cope after the procedure, soon it simply doesn’t do the trick anymore and that is where the beads are so amazing.  It gives a child (and the parents) something to look forward to.  It helps to prepare a child for something that will be happening.  We had many days where we managed to talk Bianca through a procedure by telling her she would get to choose a special bead afterwards.  It definitely made a huge difference.

Bianca often looked at her beads and said “because I am so very brave” and that is what the beads did for us, it kept Bianca’s spirits up, it kept her believing in herself, it gave her something to look forward to.  And as parents, it helps us help our child cope at a time when we don’t always know how to best prepare our them for what they need to go through, for many of us, we look forward to collecting the beads just as much as our child.

And even though we are done with treatment, I still often look at Bianca’s beads, her story, her journey and I am in awe at just how much we achieved, at how far we’ve come.  The beads are such an amzing concept that we’ve even managed to convince a girl in the US to start collecting beads and then she presented it to her hospital and she managed to get them to start the programme too and even though another mom and her son’s hospital in Australia aren’t participating, she managed to get some affordable beads and they started collecting too. 

It is my heartfelt wish that the wonderful and amazing people who make and donate these beads to kids like Bianca would know just how big a difference they are making.  They are giving something that could be treasured and kept, something to brighten a child’s day and give them something to look forward to, and they really make the journey worthwhile.  It is simply amazing watching a child as they select a very special bead, to watch their face light up and watch them string that bead, and for us when Bianca strung that purple heart – that is a feeling I simply can’t explain.  Thank you so very much!