A Fellow Hugger Shares "Free Hugs" Experience

The experience and photos below were shared by Angel, a friend of Hugs Heal. The words in Purple are hers, the words in Black are mine.

"Our first Free Hugs that we participated in we did on 7-7-07. It was significant as people from all over the world were doing it at the same time with the same purpose. Peace, Love & Happiness. We were surrounded by Angels that day and we could all feel them. We got quite the surprise when we got our group pictures - one of the Angel's decided to join in them. In both group pictures if you look at the purple hue you will see its face. First one is looking straight at the camera, the second one its turned facing us. What difference does giving a hug make? Well if we have gotten the attention of Angels then I would say it means a lot!! Love & Hugs, Angel"

While I try to keep Hugs Heal non-religious to make sure everyone of every religion feel welcome, I felt that this experience was too cool not to share. What do you guys think? Can you see the angels' face in the purple hue?

The Color of a Hug

I sent out a request for photos depicting important hugs. What could be more important, not to mention wonderful, than this one?

These Cuties are Either Hugging or Dancing!

Brotherly Love

Shared by another friend of Hugs Heal. I think this one would be great for birthday cards for any mom. Don't you?

A Long-Distance Hug Made Closer

This is a photo of my husband, Mickey, and me (Lisanne) this holiday season.

We live over 400 hundred miles apart due to the fact that both of our mothers are ill and I have a brother suffering from cancer that I'm caring for... Thus we do NOT get to see each other often.

Our shared hugs do indeed help to heal my heart, my soul, and my mind.

Shared by Lisanne of South Carolina

A Father/Daughter Hug

A beautiful Black & White of Sean Kelly Dolan and his daughter Riley Ann.

Shared by Sean K. Dolan

A Bear Hug For a Dog

Introducing the adorable Elena and her dog, Rosie!

Shared by Earl from Colorado Springs, CO.
A hug is a great tool for training a dog.

9-Year-Old Katelyn Sassin - Kicking Cancer to the Curb

I was recently contacted by a woman named Marie Sassin, who is the mother of a very strong young lady named Katelyn. Katelyn is 9 years old and is currently battling Leukemia. Marie asked me if I could donate any Hugs Heal merchandise to Katelyn's American Cancer Society Relay For Life Team, and I offered to design some Hugs Heal pins for her team and send them to her. I wish I could afford to do more, and I'm hoping that you, my readers, will be able to.

This is what Marie Sassin has to say about her daughter.

"Katelyn Sassin is a caring, sweet loving little girl, she is the best big sister to her little brother and little sister and a good friend and companion to her older sister. Almost a year ago Katelyn was experiencing some pain in her ankles, her daddy and I thought it was from running in gym class. Then the pain starting coming more frequently and with much more severity, moving from her ankles to her knees and elbows. Sometimes our Katie-bug would cry so much and be in so much pain she could not sleep. I would have to help her get dressed and help her to the bathroom. We have been from one doctor to the next (and many ER visits) with no answers. They would tell us it was pulled muscles, or tendons and even once we heard she was making a big deal out of nothing and it was all in her head.
A new pediatrician came along; a caring one who took time to listen and care, took the time to get to the bottom of things. Some blood tests had shown she was anemic, she was hardly eating anything by then and only weighed 60 pounds. Her new pediatrician as well as her daddy and I thought she had some sort or rheumatic disease.

We were then referred to Children's Hospital of Birmingham two hours away. Before you can see a Rheumatic Doctor they like for you to have a bone marrow test because some of the medicines for rheumatic diseases can alter marrow, and if you did have cancer it would not show on a biopsy, so it was by chance that day, September 11th 2008 they ordered a bone marrow aspiration done.

We were told Katelyn has biphenotypic leukemia, which means she has both AML and ALL cell markers, but since the ALL presented the most they will treat her as ALL.

In October Katelyn moved from standard risk cancer patient to standard high risk which means her chemotherapy is more intense and will last longer. She is very very sick and throws up on a daily basis, the medicines have given her ulcers in her mouth and she is very tired.

Over the past five months Katelyn has received nine spinal taps, five bone marrow biopsies, three blood transfusions, a platelet transfusion, one surgery, she has been hospitalized for two weeks with an infection and stopped eating, and she had to be fed through a TPN line. She can not go to school because she may catch an infection so she is homebound taught, but all in all she is a fighter, she will not complain and has kept a sense of humor.

We have good news from her last biopsy that she has remission marrow, the hard chemotherapy will last six more months and then she moves into the final phase which will last one and a half years to make sure the cancer does not come back."

Katelyn Sassin is clearly a brave little warrior, and I really wish I could meet her in person. I'll be keeping her in my thoughts while she and her family are going through all of these difficulties, and when she has beaten this sickness, I know they'll all be stronger for it.

Team Katelyn will be participating in the May 15-16 2009 Relay For Life at the North Alabama State Fairgrounds. Don't forget to visit Katelyn's American Society Relay For Life Team Page and help her team reach their goal by making a donation. Let's hear it for Healthy Living!

Hugging: A Crime Most Heinous

How dare a student put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders! I have never heard of anything so improper! And to think that friends would dare to go so far as to actually hug each other at the end of a school day! They must be punished!

Please excuse my excessive use of sarcasm, but sometimes I think that it’s the best way to express extreme disgust.

Is this really the kind of world that we want our kids growing up in? A world where simple touch is something that they will be disciplined for?

Rules that prohibit touching and hugging in schools are becoming more prevalent and more strict in schools across America. Something must be done, and if not us, then who?

I've written on the subject of hug bans in schools before here, my feelings are that I haven't made enough of an impact. After my last blog entry regarding the school rules prohibiting hugs, I was shocked by the response I had (not here, but on myspace). I’ve received many comments and messages from people who are totally outraged by these bans. I wasn’t surprised that people were against the rules, but that so many seemed not to have even known about them before reading my blog was a bit of a shock. These are people who could and should be having an input and affect on these rules that affect our children. Regardless of this reaction, I still don't feel that it is enough. We need to take action.

I have decided that I'll be putting together a kind of questionnaire to use in interviewing people who I (and you) think should have some say in these “no-touching” and “no-hugging” rules that are popping up in more and more schools.

I need your opinions. Your ideas as to who should be included in interviews and what kind of questions I should ask will be very important to this process. I may even need some volunteers to help me with the interviews. Teachers, psychologists, medical doctors, parents, and students are some of the people who make sense to me. If you can think of anyone else who should be interviewed, please let me know!

Now I also need your help in raising awareness of these rules and the changes needed in our schools. Please link to this blog and tell your friends about it in order to help me keep everyone updated on these issues and MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE COMMENTS! By contributing your opinion on these matters, you will be helping bring us a step closer to making sure that our children do not grow up in schools where acts of kindness and affection are marked as improper or dirty.

School Enforces Strict No-Touching Rule
Tustin middle school students suspended for repeated hugging
13-Year-Old Girl Gets Detention for Hugging
School Club Battles Against "Hug Ban" By Organizing a "Hug Day"
Stop the War On Hugs

A Sisterly Hug

A Photo of Alicia and her little sister Laura

Shared by Alicia from Oceanside, CA

A Real Bear Hug

Just a Few Holiday Hugs for Everybody!

A Hug for a Brave Soldier

"This is Donna and Kevin. He is a soldier in the Army and currently overseas. This is one of the last hugs I received from him. He is greatly missed. He will be home soon. This and other hugs are not like any other. These are the intense 'please don't go, but beacuse you have to I will hug you tight so you dont forget what it feels like in my arms' hugs' "

- Shared by Donna

Photo Submitted by a Friend of Hugs Heal 4

This is my personal favorite of my children!

Shared by Liz from Coleman, Texas

A Princess Hug

"My four year old daughter and her friend were playing dress up one day and my daughter decided to give her friend a hug. Caitlyn is good at giving out hugs, she is a very loving child."

- Shannon of Colorado Creations Photography

Photo Submitted by a Friend of Hugs Heal 4

A beautiful Father/Son moment, submitted by Gareth of the United Kindom of him and his son Joshua.

Puppy/Kitty Hugs!

WwW.SparkleTags.Com

Okay, everybody say it with me : Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.......

Photo Submitted by a Friend of Hugs Heal 3

Here is little Josh with his adorable kitty, Jack. Submitted by Claudia from Powell, Tennessee.

A Sleepy Twin Hug!

Here is a photo submitted by Maritha from Stockholm, another friend of Hugs Heal, of her twin grandsons sleeping and hugging. Adorable!

Photo Submitted by a Friend of Hugs Heal 2

This photo of her daughters was submitted by Heather, a myspace friend of Hugs Heal. So cute!