Brie Mathews

Hi All, I know I said you wouldn't hear from me until July, but I felt it very necessary to post this letter written by previous owner Laura Snyder. Brie Mathews Transplant Fund by Laura Snyder on Friday, May 18, 2012 at 1:56pm Dear Friend,  What if you were living on borrowed time?           For Brie Mathews, being healthy is a luxury she would love to enjoy. She was born with a heart condition that required three open heart surgeries when she was 12. Even with her longtime health issues, she lived a relatively normal life until she became extremely ill in 2010. She is now battling congestive heart and liver failure, and doctors say a heart/liver transplant is critical to her survival.Now she spends nearly all of her time in bed, too sick and weak to do the simplest tasks.             Despite these challenges, Brie loves life and refuses to take even one day for granted. She is grateful for the love and support of her husband, Brian, and their family and friends, who mean so much to them both. She looks forward to the transplant that could give her back the active, independent lifestyle she once enjoyed. She hopes to one day resume her favorite activities of gardening, photography, hiking, reading, camping and enjoying nature. But right now, she needs your help. Unfortunately, Brie’s hope for a new life will come at a very high price. A heart/liver transplant could cost more than $1 million. And that’s only the beginning. Even with health insurance, she’ll still face significant expenses for follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications for the rest of her life. Post-transplant medications can be very costly, and they are as critical to her survival as the transplant itself. To receive medical care while awaiting her transplant, Brie and Brian have temporarily relocated from Oregon to Texas, incurring substantial expenses for travel, food and lodging. For seven years, Brie loved working at a bookstore on the Oregon coast, but her declining health forced her to stop working. Not only does this add to her financial strain, but she really misses the customers and diving into new books. What if your life depended on the compassion and generosity of others? The National Foundation for Transplants (NFT) is working with volunteers and supporters to help relieve Brie’s growing burden of expenses. NFT has been assisting transplant patients with fundraising support for 29 years. Your gift—of $25, $50, $100 or more—will enable NFT to provide Brie with the financial support she desperately needs. You can help by visiting http://patients.transplants.org/briemathews to make a tax-deductible donation to NFT in her honor. Like · · Share Laura Snyder http://patients.transplants.org/briemathews to donate! It is secure and only takes a minute to donate.

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Another Scheduled Reading

Okay, so here's the deal...I was trying to edit the May/June letter and couldn't for the life of me find the edit button, therefore I had to add this information separately.

We had a good deal of interest in Dr. Catherine Al-Meten that we decided to have her again to do readings Sunday, May 20 from 11:00a.m.-3:00 p.m. at Lucy's Books.

Dr. Al-Meten is warm, kind, friendly, and very knowledgeable, which will put any anxieties to rest. Drop in or call Lucy's and schedule a time that's convenient for you!

May/June

I had written this three times, this is the fourth. If I lose this into cyber space yet AGAIN, the next blogg will be after I get back from Japan which is reason number one in combining two months. The other is that no matter how hard I try to make time at the store to write, something always takes precedent. How's that for sounding professional? Well, as I said above, we will go to Japan to join our youngest son, Andrew, and his wife, Ai, in their wedding ceremony. Yes, they are already married...it seems in Japan, to get hitched all you have to do is apply to the government and it is so. The ceremony will be a "Western" wedding, Japanese style. Weddings are expensive and Japan is no different. Ten thousand dollars will get you a pretty nice ceremony being that the average price going for these events is around thirty thousand. Yes, that's right. Andrew said that ten thousand was the best price. And custom there is that everyone gives a monetary gift of 300,000 yen, or $300, to the happy couple. Most of the wedding paid for! Our other son, Samuel, and our daughter, Nicole, will join us there. This is the first time in four years that we will all be together. I'm looking forward to that! Summer seems to be the time for relaxing with a fun book. Here are some suggestions: NON-FICTION: Turn Right at MACHU PICHU by Mark Adams. A man, a mountain, a rediscovery. Wild by Cheryl Strayed. A woman, a trail, 1,100 miles. FICTION: A Year On Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball. Three women, a farm, funny results! Weird Sisters by Elenore Brown. Three sisters, a family home, life experiences. EVENTS for MAY at LUCY'S BOOKS: Intuitive Catherine Al-Meten will be giving readings from 4:00p.m.-9:00p.m. at Lucy's Books, 348 12th Street, Astoria. Call to find out pricing and to reserve a time OR just walk in. 503-325-4210. See you in July!