Super Sophie's "16th" Birthday Brave Gown Drive For Cleveland Clinic

SUPER SOPHIE'S 16th BIRTHDAY BRAVE GOWN DRIVE!

So many of you have continued to help us honor our amazing girl in different ways over the last five years. I am so thankful to all of you that reached out to see if we were going to do another Brave Gown drive in honor of Sophie's "16th" birthday. SIXTEEN! Our beautiful girl would be "Sweet Sixteen."

Each year it gets harder to believe. We miss her with all of our being.

For Sophie's 11th birthday, we were able to raise over 400 Brave Gowns for Cleveland Clinic and Children's Hospital at Tristar Centennial. In honor of Sophie's 12th birthday, we were able to fill St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. For Sophie's 13th birthday, we collected and delivered gowns to TriStar Children’s Hospital at Centennial in Nashville with 356 gowns. For Sophie's 14th birthday we raised 115 Brave Gowns for Cleveland Clinic. Last year, for Sophie's 15th birthday, we raised 128 Brave Gowns for Cleveland Clinic. 

Last week we received another email from the Cleveland Clinic, as they are in need of more Brave Gowns! They said they hoped that we were doing another drive in Sophie's honor. This is something that they really look forward to and count on our help to do this in Sophie's honor. We hope to do this every year. Cleveland Clinic holds a very special place in our hearts. We hope to fill the entire hospital for such a significant birthday of Sophies. 

They have 389 beds, with children filling each one. It was perfect timing to start Sophie's birthday drive. Sophie was treated at Cleveland Clinic in 2019. After multiple relapses, even after she had miraculously been taken off of hospice in December 2018, we were told by nearly every pediatric oncology/rhabdomyosarcoma specialist that we spoke with from all over the US that there were no other options for Sophie. Thankfully, we were referred to an amazing doctor and team at Cleveland Clinic that gave us hope when it was hard to find. Cleveland, Ohio and Cleveland Clinic was our home away from home in 2019 and thanks to so many amazing people, both in and outside of the hospital, Sophie and I felt safe and knew we were surrounded by people who were fighting for Sophie’s life, just as hard as I was.

Because of the amazing physicians, nurses and members of Sophie’s care team at Cleveland Clinic, we had 9 more months with our hero, Super Sophie, that no one else could give us. 9 more months of our beautiful Sophie laughing, playing, cartwheeling, snuggling, dancing and LIVING each day to the fullest with her family and friends that love her so much. 9 more months to shine her incredible light on this side of heaven. I am forever grateful to Cleveland Clinic for those 9 months.

This is our chance to continue to help families still going through treatment, while spreading Sophie's goodness. The liaison that reached out wrote, "They have continued to be a success for our patients and families and sometimes the only way we are able to get them out of their own clothes."

Thank you all for showing up, for giving and for helping keep Sophie’s legacy of joy, hope and beautiful kindness alive. You are Team Super Sophie. We can’t even begin to tell you how much your continued support means to us.