Hi friends! This is a bit of a different post for us, but it is on my heart to share. What is the point of building a community of like-minded adventurers, if we don’t support and love and hold up our fellow adventure families when their world is falling apart? A few weeks back I received an email asking us to jump on the Born Wild Project Team. This is besides the point but it leads to my first connection with Penny and her family. See as I was opening my email, and sipping coffee, their lives were transitioning from adventuring down the trail to adventuring down the hallways of Children’s Hospital. They had just found out their lively daughter Penny has a brain tumor. In the last week, “she has gone through X-ray, CT scan, ultrasound, ER visit, 4 nights in the ICU, 3 sedated MRI’S, 2 brain surgeries and 4 IV’s.”

Time for a Penny update— She hasn’t been able to talk since the surgeries and today she said “I am hungry.” But she is struggling to eat because her brain stem is confused, she can swallow but she thinks she can’t? Something like that. So now she has a NG tube. She pooped for the first time, poop is always good. She smiled. And there was lots of cuddling. Sachi update- While I don’t know 100% what life has in store for us… I’m mourning the life we had. Even if it’s only gone for a little bit. I can’t go to sleep because there is a chance we are getting the pathology results tomorrow. I’m worried about what this week has done to Maddox and how this will change our relationship. We just found out we could be here for weeks, and I just want to go home. I don’t remember the sound of her voice. I have videos of her, but Im not strong enough for that right now.

A post shared by Sachi Thornley (@thorneeesachi) on Mar 5, 2017 at 8:06pm PST

The family is home now and moving forward with treatments, but as you can imagine the trauma and medical costs are overwhelming. And that is where we can all come in!

Hello Born Wilders! You may have noticed we’ve started up a new BWP ambassador team (more on that later, including how you can get involved!). One of our new ambassadors, @thorneeesachi, needs some help. Just two weeks ago doctors found and removed a brain tumor from her four year daughter Penny. They’ve got a long road ahead of them, and as you can imagine the expenses are overwhelming. Access to better treatment will make a difference that will echo throughout this young girl’s life. But as we know, access to good health care isn’t always easy to come by in this country, and it’s expensive. I talked to Sachi on the phone yesterday, and she told me about how badly she wants to get her daughter outside as soon as it’s safe—a powerful reminder that nature provides healing and happiness to us in the best and the worst of times. I was struck by her strength and resilience, and most of all by her love for her family. One of the things we love most about this community is the way you show up for each other, and the overwhelming support we see in this online world. It’s a beautiful thing, so we’re doing something a little different today and asking that you share this and, if you can, give a little. Every little bit adds up and makes a difference. Link in our profile. ❤🌲

A post shared by Born Wild (@bornwildproject) on Mar 14, 2017 at 10:05am PDT

If you feel led to contribute financially, please head over to the Go Fund Me Page, Positive Vibes for Penny, and donate. Every little bit helps!

Pennies for Penny

And starting tonight, March 24 at 7pm MST there is an Instagram auction to help raise money. Hop on over to @penniesforpenny and place a few bids. The auction items are amazing but even more so, the money goes straight to the Thornley family.

Mountain art piece 17”x21.5” Starting bid: $25 Retail price: $50 Shipping- $25 or fee local pick up Utah (Saratoga springs) From- @berry.chic

A post shared by Penny Thornley Auction Page (@penniesforpenny) on Mar 22, 2017 at 8:20pm PDT

Thank you Kid Project Friends! -Alyssa