Start your new life together by helping a special woman in need - we’re auctioning our wedding photography services for your special day ~ bid today ~ auction ends at 5 pm (PST) on Valentine’s Day!
One special wedding is going to celebrate not only the joy of the relationship between bride and groom, but also celebrate life itself, as a ‘vehicle of giving’ to help a beautiful, kind and generous, artistic soul conquer cancer for herself and her daughter- will it be yours? $1700 - the starting bid for Bill and me - Mode Wedding Photographers - to photograph your wedding and we’ll donate 100% of the highest amount bid to Sharlane, a single mom, artist and giver, in need of help while she works to claim her title of ’survivor’. $1700 might seem like a random place to start, but it’s a very special number to me - I hope you’ll read my story, and I hope you’ll be moved to join us in this project to give love and support to Sharlane.
Seventeen Hundred Reasons
Thursday, April 12, 2001 was the day I learned I was battling cancer. I was a single mom, in my 30’s and was in my third month of unemployment after a layoff. The day actually started out great - a few days earlier I’d accepted an offer for a new job - a cut in responsibility and pay, but the proverbial ‘foot in the door’. My kids were on spring break, so we’d decided to celebrate in one of our favorite ways - driving to the coast for an afternoon picnic on the beach. Feeling fine, I breezed out the door with the promise that I just had this quick check in with my surgeon - to make sure my incisions were healing well and likely remove sutures - and then I’d get back home, pack our lunch and we’d be off for a day of sand, water, and if we were lucky, maybe even a little sunshine. 
After all, the biopsy had been more of a precaution - just a measure to rule out any worries, as my symptoms were not typically associated with cancer and I was healthy, fit, and considered ‘too young’ for breast cancer - “odds are 1 in 10,000,” had been the surgeon’s words.
Well, as you can likely guess, the appointment turned into more than I’d expected - much more - as I learned this day would bring the most dreaded moment I’d ever face - having to go home and tell my three children, “I have cancer.” But, that grueling task and its emotional fallout; and the loss of body parts that seemed so directly connected to my womanhood, and recovery, treatment, follow-up surgeries - those are all stories for another day.
Today I’ve promised to tell you the reason - the ‘1700 reasons’ Bill and I arrived at $1700 as our starting point in the auction of our photography services for your wedding, and why we hope you’ll consider bidding to receive them. After reading that little ‘intro’ to my cancer story, I’m sure you can see why Sharlane’s story has touched me in such a personal way. A single mom, while not “un” employed, Sharlane is self-employed - so her situation is basically the same as mine was - to step away from work to fight her cancer means no income to continue to support herself and her sweet little girl. Make no mistake - cancer COSTS. We all can relate to the emotional and physical costs - but with or without medical insurance, and in addition to the resulting lack of income, fighting cancer costs alot of dollars, too.
Less than four weeks after my bi-lateral (double) mastectomies, and against the wishes of my doctor (typical recovery time was a minimum of six weeks), I caved to pressure from my new supervisor and started my job. I was only able to work half time for the first several weeks. So - significant cut in pay plus a half-time schedule….you get it…not alot of physical or financial resources to support my family of four. That wasn’t all - employment policy on the new job prevented me from using any sick leave benefits until I had worked full time for six months - so - add several dr visits per week into the mix, as well as seven weeks of daily radiation treatments … every dr visit, every radiation treatment - was unpaid leave. Then there was the issue of the change to new medical insurance - including all new deductibles to satisfy out of my own pocket, and it seemed like, no matter how many times I called and provided the new info, it never reached the hands of the person filing claims…which resulted in tangled stacks of unpaid bills and denied claims. I got to the point of not wanting to answer my telephone as there was always some collection person on the other end saying something like, “we’ve billed your insurance company twice and they have denied the claims - your bill is now past due, and for the week of x-date to x-date, you owe us $21,700 for radiation oncology.” ….and on and on it went. Yes, cancer costs - and it doesn’t wait till you’re back on your feet, or through with treatment, or fully recovered… Yes, eventually those situations were resolved, but the constant threats to my credit, along with my at best ‘limping’ income, took their toll. Please know - I know that I am lucky - no chemo, lots of loving friends and family, and I won the battle - these are facts that make me grateful every day. But these details I’m sharing are real - and no matter how hard you are battling, or how exhausted you might be, or how much you wish you could give what little energy you have to your family instead of worries about money - they rear their ugly heads and demand that you deal with them. Cancer costs….and the light bill, grocery bills and rent still come due.
A Gift from an Angel
So, there I sat on my front porch one afternoon, after months of scrambling and juggling to try to cover all my financial bases. I’d been a good girl and had the recommended rainy day savings account, but the months of unemployment followed by the cancer battle had burned through every cent. On this day, I was facing a new grueling task - my rent was due and for the first time ever in my life, I was going to have to call the landlord and tell him I wasn’t able to pay. I felt so defeated - my goal, in addition to survival - and reassuring/restoring confidence in my children that their mom wasn’t going anywhere - had been to come through this battle with grace and dignity. The phone call looming over my head did not feel graceful or dignified, and I wasn’t sure what I would do if I couldn’t afford to rent a house for my kids and me. I sat outside, knowing that as soon as I went inside, I needed to take the responsible step and make that call….I realized, “Hey, I haven’t gotten the mail yet today - there’s one more reason to stall another minute or two….”
As I walked back toward the house from the mailbox, I went through the stack of ‘usual’ mail - bills of course, junk adds, and then I came to a 5×7 manilla envelope. It was lumpy, ya know, like it contained more than a card or letter; my name and address were handwritten on it and there was no return address. I opened it and found a card - on the front was a photograph that anyone living in our area would recognize - it was the old brewhouse - the original brick building, full of old-time character, on the land that eventually became the home to the Olympia Brewery. Inside was a handwritten message from an angel:
“Dear Ms Wheeler-
Please receive this gift as an encouragement and as an expression of God’s love and provision for you. The prompting to give this came in a time of prayer. Receive it and use it where you have need. Who do you thank? Give thanks to Him who is our maker.
You may have occasion to be a vehicle of giving to others in the years to come.
I believe you will.
You are greatly loved by the Father of Creation.”
There was no signature.
With chills running through my whole body and my heart pounding, I looked inside the manilla envelope again and found two smaller envelopes - I pulled them out to find that each of them contained a stack of 5’s, 10’s and 20’s - in all, $1,700….$1,700!! Enough to pay rent, buy groceries and catch up on a few other bills - $1700 - enough to know that I would scrape by, and be able to make it through a few more weeks of short paychecks until treatment was over and I’d be mostly able to work full time. $1700 - a gift of relief, a gift of confidence that I would win this battle with cancer, a gift of the ability to support my family. I studied the handwriting for days, weeks, months, years - it was unique and I have memorized what it looks like - always watching to see if I can spot the same writing from anyone whose path crosses mine. So far, the identity of my angel is still a secret - as much as I would love to thank that person, part of me is glad that I haven’t solved the mystery - as obviously it was my angel’s desire to remain anonymous.
Today is the first time I have actually pushed myself to put pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard - about my cancer, or about the story of this amazing gift. As I write, I’m realizing that - as much as I’ve worked to be the “vehicle of giving”, as my angel wrote - in the back of my mind I was afraid that letting go of how closely and privately I held this story would mean letting go of the confidence it bestowed. But that was not true. Today I realize that I was just waiting for the right time to share it. Today is a good day - make that a GREAT day - today I am excited because, like my angel said he/she knew I would, today is the day I get to pay it forward - I can’t tell you how much I have been looking forward to this day. Today my heart is overflowing with even more appreciation for my angel, because today I am receiving yet another gift from him/her - the chance to help someone who is in the same situation I was.
What You’ll Receive
$1700 - the starting bid for Bill and me - Mode Wedding Photographers - to photograph your wedding anywhere in the country and we’ll donate 100% of the highest bid to Sharlane, a single mom in need of help while she works to claim her title of ’survivor’. In exchange for the highest bid, and in addition to that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you help someone, 
you’ll receive our professional wedding photography services including:
- Our double-date style engagement session
- Two photographers (Bill & me) all day on your wedding day (anywhere in the US!)
- Private online gallery for viewing/ordering images
- DVD containing engagement and wedding images, with personal printing rights
One special wedding is going to celebrate not only the joy of the relationship between bride and groom, but also celebrate life itself, as a ‘vehicle of giving’ to help a beautiful, kind and giving, artistic soul conquer cancer for herself and her daughter- will it be yours?
Want to get to know us before you bid? Leave a comment - we’re happy to set up a phone consult, iChat or meet in person - we’d love to get acquainted and hear about your plans!
How to Bid
$1700 - we’re starting at a dramatic reduction of our typical pricing - we hope you’ll bid, and keep bidding, so that together we can give Sharlane not only our support, but our confidence that she can win this battle. To bid, please add a comment to this post with your wedding date and bid amount - we’ll email you privately to get your contact info (name, address, phone) If we are already booked for your date, we will notify you immediately and offer the option to withdraw your bid. If you should be outbid, we will notify you so that you may increase your bid. The bidding will close at 5 pm (PST) on Valentine’s Day, Sunday February 14, 2010. We will notify the high bidder via phone and post the results here.
Thank you for letting me share this story with you. Please bid now! Your partnership in our project to help Sharlane means the world to Bill and me!
With love and hope ~ Erin
For more info about Sharlane and additional ways that you can help, please click We Heart Sharlane
*Please note: winning bidder must sign our photography services agreement
Update!! The bidding has begun!!
Thanks, Stephanie, for being awesome and posting the starting bid of $1,700 ~ do we hear $1,800?
by Erin
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