A child's arm with a colorful, hand-drawn smiley face with purple and pink hair, blue eyes, and a pink smile.

Courage Tees was made out of love. Throughout our cancer journey there were many gestures from neighbors, friends, and people we didn’t even know that brought joy, comfort and love to our experience. Here are some of those moments:

-Katie & Casey

Katie had to receive home shots administered by her parents, Casey and Mark.  They would draw faces on the area around the shot to make the experience less stressful and more fun.

Girl sitting on a porch with stuffed animals, toys, and drinks on a small table, smiling at the camera.

Katie hosted tea parties with her stuffed animals on days she was feeling better. Her friends would drop off their stuffed animals before school and Katie’s mom would put together snacks for everyone!

Decorative pumpkins with cartoon faces, colorful feathers, and googly eyes arranged on a porch staircase.

One October, after being in the hospital for a week, Katie was finally released on Halloween. She arrived home to find pumpkins decorating the porch and front yard. Katie’s friends had hand painted the pumpkins to surprise and support the family.

A decorative green garden fence with purple ribbon bows attached to it, in front of residential houses and a well-kept yard.

Purple bows (Katie’s favorite color) could be found all around her hometown in support for Katie and her family as she battled cancer.  A friend of Katie’s and her family came up with the idea to show that the community was standing with her.

Wrapped items with handwritten love notes and colorful drawings, tied with purple ribbons.

On days when Katie and her family were in the hospital for hours, neighbors would sign up to bring meals and snacks to their home. In addition to the relief and warmth of a prepared meal, Katie loved to guess what might be arriving that night.

Flower garden bed with flowering plants and ornamental grasses in front of a house porch with white railing.

 

Friends planted flowers in Casey and Katie’s garden alleviating stress while also bringing color and beauty to their home.