Team Carrie Powwow for Hope Fundraiser

An orange ribbon symbolizes leukemia. My sister died in 2010 from leukemia at age 53. She died one year after our mother, to the month and one day before. She was diagnosed with cancer shortly after our mother died.

My mother said she didn't want to die before her children. She didn't but it was close.

I got cancer in 2012 and underwent chemotherapy in 2013. I had been through that with my sister. If I had a choice I don't know that I would have agreed to chemo. Knowing what I know now it would be a difficult choice to do now.

The Powwow for Hope raises yearly money for the American Indian Cancer Foundation. In 2014, my family and I joined the cause.

During the pandemic, fundraising continued. It wasn't the same get- together or the same Powwow for Hope until last year. This year it has gone back to the original date and the original place that it started at.

The Powwow for Hope is meeting this year at the Base Camp Facility, St. Paul, MN, and will be held on May 4, 2024.

I went through chemo with my sister. I held her hair while she vomited. I sat with her as she was having different procedures. She was allergic to the plasma she needed and would get chills and shakes. She went through a lot.

She had night sweats that would soak her nightgown/pajamas, and I would help her change as she shook during the night. I stayed in the same room with her.

I was there when she got company. Her sister friends were there to sing and drum with her. She loved that and it helped her to feel better. She had a nun visit and when she was ready to leave the nun asked if she could come back. Carrie told her as long as she didn't come floating in.

The sister said they no longer wear habits and she would like to come back. The hospital was St. Mary's. She did come back. Carrie went through the eighth grade in Catholic school. As a psychic told us, she had some issues with Catholicism.

She has two children, six granddaughters, and a grandson. She loved her children and grandchildren.

Carrie was an artist and she had a full life through to her death. It was like my mother knew. She would talk about her smoking. She would say that she is sickly. Just little things but it did appear that she knew what was going on. I hope I don't have that gift of knowing.

My sister had a reprieve after her treatment but she knew when it was back and asked what a friend would do if she knew her time was short. She was told to go to where she wanted to see and spend time with the people she wanted to see.

She asked for a reiki treatment from me and a couple of other reiki practitioners. We had a powerful experience when giving that reiki treatment. A Bose radio shut off and didn't come back again until the next day. Two of us gave it reiki and it came back.

My sister got to all the places she wanted to go and saw all the people she wanted to see. People were in awe when she died as they talked about just seeing her a week ago or two weeks ago and how well she appeared to be doing.

When she was given the option of further treatment that may only last a month or so, she declined. The first time around was torture for her.