An old friend of mine is a reporter for Newsday, the local Long Island newspaper. Rob saw a great opportunity to get the word out about NPA using Quinn - and Newsday - to do so. Since he pitched the story in mid-December, we have been tailed by reporter Denise Bonilla and two freelance photographers - Steve Pfost and Steven Sunshine. They've joined us both at home and out & about on a number of our list adventures - Tea at the Plaza, FAO Schwarz, and Quinn's first manicure/pedicure.
Our original thought was that the story was going to be a couple of paragraphs, based on a short interview and maybe a photo or two. As time wore on, Denise kept coming back saying her editors wanted more and more list items included.
So we did.
And this was the result.
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Cover Girl |
(Also of note is the subtle - or not-so-subtle - juxtaposition of the beautiful baby's photo next to the scary increase in gun permits in the next county. Honestly, this makes me happy - if she can help both NPA awareness and gun control, I am all for it!)
What waited inside was an absolutely beautiful account of Quinn, her life and our attempt at making it as memorable as possible - for Quinn and for us.
What also lay in wait were comments on the online version - mostly kind and supportive, sometimes scathing and judgmental. It is what it is, but we'd be lying if we didn't acknowledge some of the sting they left. Publicizing our story for the awareness of the disease puts us out there though, and ultimately we know our intentions are pure and we're doing the best we know how.
Sunday was a whirlwind with texts, calls and messages from friends, family and strangers who read the story and wanted to reach out to us in some way. Incredibly, our tremendous support system just got that much bigger!
But Quinn wasn't quite done yet. Nope! Because really, what is a Cover without a Television Appearance to compliment it. Oh yes - Miss Q was the lead teaser on the 10:00 hour of the local cable news station News 12 Long Island. One of their reporters and cameramen came to the house just before bedtime and did an interview with Brett, Quinn and I - and the boys even popped up post-bath for a bit too!
The crazy weekend was capped off tonight by another terrific display of kindness, generosity and support.
Le Play Cafe - an awesome play place where the kids play and the parents can relax! - held a Play for Quinn Benefit tonight. There were a ton of kids and amazing parents, who got to play for over an hour - including ah-maz-ing face painting donated by Michelle of The Artfull Experience. Then they had yummy pizza and delicious cupcakes, donated by Cupcakes Catering - and just a generally good time.
Thank you to all who attended in honor of Quinn, and especially Jessee for hosting and the donation of the space and proceeds. Quinn will surely do something special to honor you!
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Quinn admiring her first face painting <3 |
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some of the kids at play |
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such a fun place!! |
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Quinn couldn't take her eyes off of Colin's Spider-Man facepaint |
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my three cuties |
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a great way to cap off a great day! |