Festival Story "My Granddaughter Miss Mia" by Shona Peterson

"In November, 2011 my granddaughter Mia was born at 37 1/2 weeks weighing 4 lbs. 2 oz. We were not aware at the time that she had anything wrong with her. We were under the impression that she just wasn’t getting enough nutrition and needed to be born early.

After running several tests, we got the diagnosis that Mia has a chromosome anomaly. She was missing 62 genes on her 13th chromosome. We were given a list of many things that this could mean for her throughout her life such as severe seizures, learning disabilities, heart defects and missing parts of her brain. Many tests were run and it was discovered that Mia was deaf in one ear. Through the early stages of life we realized that due to her diagnosis her muscle tone was very low. When Mia was only 7 weeks old we took her to Primary Children's Hospital for a follow up just to check on a small hole in her heart. At that point in time we were blessed enough when the technician caught a glimpse of something he wasn’t sure about. He called the doctor in. A few days later we took her in for an angiogram where they discovered that she has RCAPA. This means that her right coronary artery was attached to her pulmonary artery rather than her aorta. The right side of her heart was not getting any oxygenated blood. They gave her a blood transfusion and scheduled us to come back in 4 days for an open heart surgery. To my knowledge this was the first right coronary artery surgery of this kind to be performed at Primary Children’s. 

Dr. AK Kaza performed her surgery and said she was a miracle. The surgery could not have gone any better. She was in the cardiac ICU for 1 week and then on the recovery floor for an additional 2 weeks. 

Mia has since had multiple check ups but no additional surgeries. Everything is perfect and they now consider her heart to be totally normal. Mia truly is quite a little miracle. Without this diagnosis that was caught by a young technician doing her echocardiogram, she would would have died before we would have known anything was wrong. Next month Mia will celebrate her 7th birthday.  She is a happy and healthy little girl.

In 2014, our family decorated and donated a tree to the Festival of Trees in her honor. We named it "Mia's Grateful Heart". We were so grateful for all the time and care the doctors and nurses at Primary Children's Hospital gave to our sweet angel. 

The very first tree I did was in 2003 when a young man in our ward was being treated for a brain tumor and I helped the Young Women do it as a project for their personal progress.

Then after Mia came to our family, we witnessed the love and amazing medical miracles that occur at Primary Children’s. I felt like Festival was the perfect place to pay it forward! Kathy Bess invited me to be on her committee and then to be a part of this amazing group of people that serve on the Executive Board! How could I have ever said No? 

We are blessed as a family to be able to love our sweet Mia everyday and watch her grow and thrive. We are also blessed to be able to donate something each year to Festival of Trees to help other special children who need care at this amazing hospital! 

Festival of Trees 2015 "Waiting for Santa"

Festival 2016 "We Believe"

2017 Santa's Campsite

Nyla Jane the 2017 Festival Poster Child couldn't resist playing in the adorable camper

My awesome family, friends and amazing employees help us to create and make the items we donate and it is always the highlight of our year!

Every day we realize what a blessing it is to have Primary Children’s Hospital."

Editor's Note: Shona Peterson has served in many positions at Festival of Trees over the years but this year she serves as our Festival Co-chair.

"My Festival Story - My Three Boys" by Jen Kuhn

For 17 years, my family has been decorating and donating a tree to the Festival of Trees.

Our journey began when our first adopted son, Zarid, passed away. He was born with Down Syndrome and passed away at 18 months due to Interstitial Lung Disease (hardening of the lungs) and a hole in his heart.

Zarid

Like most babies who are medically fragile, he was 24 hour care with oxygen, pumps, and life sustaining machines. Maintaining his life was a 24 hour job that we were willing to put everything else on hold to do.

When he passed away all I could do and wanted to do was sleep. When the medical bills piled so high, I was forced to call on them. I was amazingly shocked at the response of the PCMC hardship committee. They proposed a flat rate that my family could afford. After thanking them profusely, I asked what else I could do to show my appreciation. The young man asked if I had heard of Festival of the Trees. He suggested that I decorate and donate a tree in memory of my son.

I am sure that when he suggested decorating a tree for Festival, he did not know that this was going to keep my family together and save my life.

Two years later we had another opportunity to adopt another baby. We named him Kemo. He was born with the exact same health issues as Zarid. And lived for only a month.

Kemo

Once again, our family mourned. My arms ached. I could often smell him in the oddest places at the weirdest times.

Again all I wanted to do was sleep.

The following year, our middle son, Paul Jr at the age of 20 was murdered. No words can describe our pain and once again our hearts ached. Our other children questioned why. A judicial trial soon began. An an entire community mourned.

Paul Jr

The only thing that got me through each loss was participation in Festival of the Trees.

Each year, I take a few months to work on the tree, get donations and make ornaments that allow me to feel that once more I am taking care of them.  It's important to me to get my family involved and include them in making and setting up the tree. While doing this, we share memories and stories to those who were too young remember and the next generation who didn't know them. They have been able to listen to memories that included them. I look forward to my family getting together to help put the tree together. I look forward to my idea coming together. I look forward to sharing and laughing at the memories. All year I think of my theme and I look forward to the time I'll spend doing it. I can't wait for the chaos, the family drama, the material mess and all the mistakes I'll make until my tree looks like I want it to. The tears still flow as I decorate and plan because I miss my children and always will.

Festival allows me to look forward to, and find joy in the Christmas Season.  For people missing loved ones, Christmas can be the loneliest, saddest part of the year.

I am so thankful for Festival of the Trees. It not only helped us financially with hospital bills, it helped us as a family to stay united and to carry on. As a mom, it provided me the feeling of continuing to care for my children who had passed away. It gave me a reason to get out of bed and to remember the wonderful times that I had with them. I look forward to my reunion with them.

I look forward to being a part of this spectacular fundraising event that does not only assist with the financial stress of medical bills, but supports families through difficult times. It has allowed our family to not only give back to those who helped us and our community, but to strengthen existing families going through similar hardships. We look forward to donating many more trees in honor of our three sons. 

To those who started the Festival of the Trees, and those on the Board, we say thank you. 

In memory of our three angel boys -- Zarid, Kemo and Paul Jr. Kuhn

With love,

Jen & Paul Sr Kuhn

Donated Tree  - Festival 2017

*** Editor's note.  Paul Kuhn is a professional chef.  Year after year, Paul Sr & Jen Kuhn can also be found on Thanksgiving day cooking and serving an incredible Thanksgiving Dinner to nurses and doctors that are working during the holiday at Primary Children Hospital.  

"My Festival Story - POTS" by Julie Slack

"Our family has been doing a tree every other year since 2011 in honor of our daughter after she got diagnosed with an illness called Dysautonomia aka POTS.  While many have never heard of the illness, it's not rare.  One in 100 teens will get diagnosed with it each year.  It is rarely diagnosed properly.  There is no cure and it's a debilitating illness which greatly reduces the quality of life.  

All of our trees are in honor of our daughter Aubrey Lee Slack.

Julie Slack and her daughter Aubrey Lee Slack

Our Tree 2011 " Hope For Pete's Sake " in memory of my Dad who died of cancer in 2010 and in honor of Aubrey.

"Hope for Pete's Sake"

In Memory of our Father who passed away

and... of course in honor of our beautiful Aubrey

Our 2013 Tree was named "Christmas at Tiffany's" 

Read an amazing KSL article about Aubrey  HERE.  Enjoy another article from the Salt Lake Tribune about Aubrey and her "Christmas at Tiffany's Tree HERE .

Christmas at Tiffany's

Pictured:  Aubrey Lee Slack

 

Our 2015 Tree "Adopt a cherished  Gift" --We are an adoptive family 

Our 2017  Tree "Our Anchors in Heaven "  In memory of my Dad and my Husband's Dad who both served in the Navy.

Our Anchors in Heaven

Our Aubrey is now married and still struggles somewhat with her health due to POTS and other issues. 



We thank Primary Children's Hospital for all they have done for Aubrey the past 15 years.  Our tradition to decorate and donate a tree to Festival of Trees will continue. "

Julie Slack also has started "Ponchos with a Purpose".  She crochets ponchos (hugs) and gives them to sick children.  She was honored by KUTV 2 and Mountain America Credit Union and given $500 to help support her cause.  Watch the amazing story below!
Pay it Forward: Mom gives free 'hugs' to sick kids through Ponchos with a Purpose

Karen's Quilt Comes Home

The Quilt Block at Festival of Trees is an amazing part of Festival where quilters display their most unique talents by designing, creating and donating beautiful quilts.  These quilts are sold by Silent Auction and Cash and Carry on Opening Night.  These heirlooms amaze young and old alike as their amazing patterns and themes are displayed.  Each quilt is stitched with love, and more time than most can imagine is donated to create them. Over the past 48 years that Festival of Trees has been in operation, hundreds of quilts have been created and donated and thousands of dollars have been raised. 

This story of "Karen's Quilt" is EXTRA special and started in 1970.....as told by her sister, Jenny. 

Karen's Quilt

"When Karen was about 11 years old, her mother Vivian gave her a sewing basket filled with embroidery tools as an incentive for her to learn to do embroidery and other sewing.  

Included was a baby quilt pattern which could be used for learning embroidery techniques.  Karen was immediately determined that she would make the baby quilt for her little brother, who was about two years old at the time.  Karen quickly caught on to the techniques and did beautiful work.  But as time went by, the project was set aside. 

Karen's Sewing Box

Then, when Karen was 13 (in 1970), she was diagnosed with cancer.  To help pass time while in bed at Primary Children's Hospital and at home, she began to embroider the quilt blocks she had started two years previously. The darling blocks in the quilt had pictures of animals and flowers and the background was a soft baby blue. Both of her grandmothers, Vera Best and Lula Croft, volunteered to do one or two blocks for her.  After the blocks were lovingly completed, Karen and her Grandma Croft put the blocks together and quilted it, with Grandma Croft doing most of the work.  The quilt was completed about a month before Karen passed away.

By this time, Karen's little brother was four years old and too old for a baby quilt.  At the same time, the Festival of Trees was in its beginning stages.  Karen's parents, Myron and Vivian Best, decided to donate the quilt to the fund raising project in December, 1971.  Her mother says, "We wanted the quilt to be special.  We wanted it to have a purpose." At Festival, one of the doctors who had worked with Karen at Primary Children's recognized her quilt, bought it, and then donated it to the hospital.  

Karen's quilt hung in the boardroom of the old Primary Children's Hospital building for several years.  When the new hospital was built, it was framed and hung in the hall near the children's playroom in the cancer area.

Time went by.  Karen's seven siblings grew up and had children of their own.  Occasionally one would visit the hospital and look for the quilt to show to their children.   On one visit, inquiry was made that if some time in the future the hospital no longer wanted the quilt, could the family have it back?  To the surprise of the inquirer, she was told she could have it right then.  Arrangements were made to take it home.  Someday the quilt will go to Karen's little brother (who is now a grandfather) for whom it was made in the first place. Karen's quilt now hangs on display at the home of her parents and is considered a family heirloom." 

Karen - 13 years old

Editor's note:  I met Jenny (Karen's amazing sister) coincidentally at a Nail Salon.  She immediately shared the story of Karen's Quilt.  Her mother Vivian has been thrilled to share the story as well.  Vivian said to me via email, "Perhaps with you having this story, the quilt can keep on giving." If you would like to donate a quilt to the Festival of Trees, go to our www.festivaloftreesutah.org and click on "Get Involved".  Scroll down to "Quilt Block" to register.

"My Festival Story - Playhouses" by Jennifer John

The Festival of Trees not only has hundreds of decorated trees, wreaths, centerpieces, gingerbread houses and baked goods for sale, they have Playhouses.  The Playhouse Plaza features playhouses, gazebos, dollhouses, children's furniture, backyard decor and playground equipment.  These amazing and unique displays are sold on Opening Night through silent auction. If you are interested in donating a playhouse or know of someone who might be interested, please go to Festival of Trees and click on Playhouse Plaza to register.

This is the "Festival Story" of our Playhouse Plaza Chair, Jennifer John.  Jennifer and her family turned tragedy into a family tradition that has benefited needy children at Primary Children's and thousands of playhouse fans at Festival of Trees for quite a few years now.

Jennifer's story...

"16 years ago we had a stillborn daughter and shortly after her passing decided to decorate and donate a tree to the Festival of Trees in remembrance of her.  

The next year we decided, as a family, to make it a tradition to donate to Festival of Trees.  After five years of donating a tree we decided to build a playhouse.  My Dad was a school teacher and built homes in the summer so he was the man with the skills and I was the one with the ideas!  Our first playhouse was pretty simple but we raised $10,000 for the hospital.  

Jennifer and her Dad, John Sparks in 2017 

I've had a lot of fun working with my Dad building playhouses and trying to learn some of his skills.  He is 83 and still able to sink a nail in two swings!  Many of you may remember the Black Pearl a few years ago.  That was one of many creations built by "Grandpa Sparks". 
 

Jennifer and her children aboard "The Black Pearl"

This year we will be making two playhouses (a She-Shed and a Man Cave) for the Festival, bringing our playhouse donations to 12 playhouses. 

I love "hosting" in Playhouse Plaza during the week of Festival and watching the expressions on, not only children, but adult's faces too as they walk by our playhouses.  I once heard a mom tell her kids..."I wish we had a 'Grandpa Sparks!'"  I love the joy that I see in others because of the festive Christmas vibe that seems ever present at Festival of Trees.  I have witnessed many miracles in the lives of those who donate, those who buy these precious donations and those who volunteer (many behind the scenes and unnoticed).  

I remember as a young girl coming to the Festival of Trees when it was downtown at the Salt Palace.  For me, Festival is a Utah Tradition.  I love what it represents...hope, healing, giving, sacrifice and love.  After all, isn't that what the first Christmas was all about?"

You can watch a fun news clips about Jennifer and her Father HERE.   You can watch another clip with Budah & Jennifer in the Playhouses HERE.