Elizabethe's Story:
My sister, Cathy, was 6 years younger than me and the baby of the family. Hard to believe but my sister and I never argued or fought growing up. We were too busy entertaining each other.
We would dress up and go out for Halloween and play for hours, enjoying our imaginative time together.
When I became pregnant with my first child, I asked her to come in the delivery room with me. I had a healthy baby girl and named her after my sister's middle name. She kept kissing me on the cheek, telling me I did a good job and how much she loved me. When it was her turn, her son was born and I became his godmother.
As the years went on she divorced and remarried. Her second marriage brought us even closer. My daughter was even spending more time with her, sleepovers etc.
When she moved into her house she asked me to paint and decorate it for her. She loved how mine looked and wanted my help. She would make sure I was fed and had my cup of tea, taking time to sit down and chit chat with her.
My husband and I redid the entire farm house for her. Then with her second marriage she asked me to do her wedding flowers. Again I am not a professional but she loved what I had done before. So I asked the neighbors for fresh flowers to make her bouquets. Because she was married in the summer I had a rainbow of colors to choose from. She had so many wonderful comments about them.
One day I got sick. They thought I was having a heart attack but found out I had bad anxiety... so bad it even affected my voice. I couldn't speak, only stutter.
I had to use a pen and paper to communicate. I was not allowed to drive, either or the doctor would take my license away.
My husband and my sister took me doctors visits and treatments. My sister would even drive 1/2 hour to get me and then take me to my appointments. It took me 9 months to get my voice back.
I began taking yoga as part of my healing. I loved yoga so much that I wanted to learn more. As in most cases, the universe heard my desire and I met a lady who would give me yoga in exchange for cleaning the studio. My sister was so proud of me.
Then before I could get my certification my world changed. My sister passed away.
Her husband had called the house and my daughter answered it. She was hysterical. She didn't know if she had passed out or what had happened as we rushed to the hospital. When we got to the hospital we met her husband at the door. He then told me she had passed away.
As I now recall the day, I had gone into town 3 times that day. This was very unlike me as I normally would try to only make one trip since it is 1/2 hour drive one way to do so.
I had a massive headache and was trying to get rid of it by doing yoga. My sister had gone to a funeral that morning even though she wasn't feeling well. She told her husband to call the ambulance.
They came and she was coherent and it wasn't until she got to the hospital that she flat lined and they couldn't help her.
Her eyes were still open and she was still warm when I sat beside her. I held her hand and kept talking to her. At times I even wanted to slap her to wake her up. She couldn't be gone! She had been at the doctor's 3 weeks prior for a physical and received a clean bill of health!
As I felt the loss of my sister, I had a vision... make cushions. I kept saying "no, aren't there enough cushions out there, why do I have to make them".
As I surrendered to accepting the vision...the measurements came through. It is all with the numerology of my sister and me. The design became a heart but not just any heart - our initials intertwined making the heart.
I pick out the material, cut the material, sew and stuff the cushions and do my best to sell them now. Customers have seen the aura above them or feel the healing power.
In fact I had one customer who bought a cushion for a little boy with cancer. She asked me to pick one out for her which I did.It turned out to be the exact colours he liked. When the Continued at Right...
On left: A photo of us at christmas time given to me in a picture frame that said "sisters forever" with hearts all around it. This is the picture I put on a card with every cushion sold. On right: A photo of Cathy at her 40th birthday. She was crying because she was so happy to see me. I hugged her so tight. Who would know that 7 months later she would be gone.
cushion was placed behind his back, he told them he could feel it. The next day he passed. Then his mother found out that she was pregnant again and this cushion is now going on the journey with the new baby.
I made one for me to use at the my yoga class and soon everyone was wanting one. I realized that this was a gift from her to share so I decided that a percentage would go to purchase and maintenance of heart defibrillators.
One of the first places I put heart defibrillators was on the volunteer fire trucks because they do not get the same funding as provincial fire departments. The fire chef came up to the following week and told me they had to use the unit 2 days after it was placed there. I was shocked, surprised and happy.
When someone dies there is a ripple effect on the people that are left behind. We are all in loss. As long as there is breath in my body and I have the will to sew the cushions, I will continue the quest to have aed units in all areas of need.
I also want to educate especially the young. I have started spreading the love even more. Monies from cushions will stay in that community and collectively add up to purchasing a heart defibrillator.
This was a gift for me and I want to share the gift with others continuously. Last week I received the HEART AND SOUL award from the Heart & Stroke Foundation for my fundraising efforts. This served to confirm that this is my purpose and what I need to do.
Article by Colleen Toms, BRANT NEWS
When Elizabeth Vick sells meditation pillows and jewelry to raise funds for automated external defibrillators.Raising awareness of heart disease in women
When her sister Cathy Pate passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of 40 in 2007, Elizabethe Vick made a meditation pillow entwining the first letters of both their names.
The C and E formed the shape of a heart and gave Vick comfort as she came to grips with her sister’s sudden death. Though she couldn’t bring her sister back, Vick wanted to commemorate her in some way while raising awareness of heart disease among women.
She began selling the pillows to raise funds for the purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which she hopes to see installed in every public building in Brantford and the County of Brant.Demand for the meditation pillows grew among yoga participants in Vick’s County of Brant class. “A lot of people just zoned into it,” she said. “I made one for myself just to help with the healing and now the proceeds are going to the defibrillators.”
To date, Vick has helped equip nine local sites with the life-saving devices, including County of Brant fire detachments, the Brantford Public Library, Brant Sports Complex and Scotland-Oakland School. Vick also hosted three “Celebration of Life” campaigns to help raise funds for defibrillators, in addition to entering three triathlons to create awareness about heart disease in women.
“That was a lot of perseverance and dedication and I’m hoping to do it again this year,” she said. “It’s not about coming first, second or third, it’s just about getting over the line.”Vick is currently working to fulfill requests from local schools for defibrillators.
People interested in helping to make or buy the meditation pillows, which are made from Indian saris and stuffed with buckwheat hulls, or in purchasing Mala necklaces and bracelets, can call Vick at 519-751-9958 or e-mail celebrationoflife@live.ca. Donations can also be made to the Brantford Heart and Stroke Foundation in care of Celebration of Life.
