Heart of Hope Bracelet Benefiting the TMA: A very special friendship
Kathie Ketels-Lichtig

We started out as “professional” friends in October 2004.  Cynthia Noonan was the “go to” girl at the Bay Area ALS Association office and the volunteer coordinator extraordinaire!  I was a brand new caregiver to my husband, Bill, a newly diagnosed ALS patient.  Once we signed up for the annual fundraising walk, we started interacting with the staff and Cynthia.  When Bill and I became the honorary walk chairmen for 2005, we began to see more and more of Cynthia.  She was a huge help in organizing our friends, and we became two of her “regular” volunteers.  She is thoroughly organized, easy to talk to and I think it was her winning smile that helped to quickly move us to a casual, personal friendship.

Intense, life-changing events tend to compound time spent together….kind of like dog years where 1 = 7!  While we had only known each other for about a year, I think we covered the ground that some relationships take 7+ to cover!  Bill and I had committed to completing all of the walks.  So even though he died in the summer of 2005, I finished all seven of the walks with the help of my friends – including Cynthia – who always seemed to be by my side, offering a hug, a smile, a word of encouragement or just a simple hand to hold to steady my voice/nerves before I spoke.  She says, “You just gravitate to the good people!”  I believe she’s right!

Fast forward two years to the fall of 2007.  I am a jewelry artist and had finally come up with a way to combine my jewelry business with a charitable giving aspect to benefit the ALS Association.  Cynthia and the staff were enthusiastic and generous in their encouragement and feedback!   In February 2008, the Heart of Hope for ALS bracelet was officially launched! 

November 2007 is also the time when Cynthia received her TM diagnosis….an event she compares to “being hit by a really big truck!”   Only this time, she found herself on the receiving side of the kindness and generosity of friends and family – somewhat uncomfortable for one who knows only giving!  And yet, displaying the same grace and good humor that we have come to appreciate in her, Cynthia has opened her heart and her new life to her friends.

To honor Cynthia and our friendship, I thought it would be fun to create a special bracelet that could be sold to friends and family to help defray some of her medical expenses.  Working with two of her friends/co-workers, we were able to get Cynthia to share some of her favorite colors and I was able to design “Cynthia’s bracelet”. True to her generous spirit, when we got together to show her the prototype and discuss the business details, she quickly responded.  “I know people want to help and it is truly an honor to have someone create something to help with what you’re going through. There are others who don’t have as much as I do.  So…I think we should be donating the proceeds to the TM Association.”

The Heart of Hope bracelet benefiting The Transverse Myelitis Association is hand-crafted using beautiful 6mm Swarovski® crystals in shades of olive, amber, amethyst and persimmon.  Each bracelet is finished with sterling silver COURAGE and awareness ribbon charms.  The fold-over, magnetic heart clasp assures a secure closure.  While the magnet is not very powerful, please check with your physician if you are pregnant or have a pacemaker!  The copyrighted design was inspired by Cynthia’s love of fall colors and her courage and determination as she adjusts to life with TM.  In Cynthia’s honor, $25 of the purchase price of each piece will be donated to The Transverse Myelitis Association in your name and is tax deductible.

The bracelet can be ordered on my website:
http://www.kathielichtigstudio.com/transvers-myelitis.html

I’ve heard it said that people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.  Originally, I would have bet that my relationship with Cynthia would have earned a “reason” tag.  Now…I believe we are on the path to a lifetime friendship….and I am truly blessed!

To learn more about Cynthia: http://noonansupport.blogspot.com