• About
  • Speaking
  • Consulting
  • Amber Hinds

  • Journal
  • Press
  • Contact

Amber Hinds

Nantucket, MA
Life
/
March 13, 2012

Pennies for Jena

Today is Jena Cassalina’s 19th birthday.  A little over five years ago, at the age of thirteen, she took her last breath while waiting for a double lung transplant and fighting cystic fibrosis.  I never had the honor of knowing beautiful Jena, but I do have the honor of calling her amazing mother, Margarete, my friend.    Instead of giving up after losing Jena to CF, Margarete wrote a book about it.  She became a national advocate for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, increasing awareness and raising millions of dollars to fund research for a cure for her son and everyone else with CF, so that one day CF will stand for “Cure Found.” As a mother, I can’t even begin to comprehend living what has become Margarete’s normal: hospitals and medications and lots of very tough decisions; let alone being inspired to make a difference because of that normal.   Of all the women I have met in my life, Margarete is the strongest, most generous and loving, the most driven, and a thousand other wonderful things.

Today, across the country, people have been leaving 19 lucky pennies for others to find in celebration of Jena’s birthday and to show our love for Jena’s family.  My penny pictures are below; today, I carried Jena through the fog, from one end of the island to the other and just about everywhere in between, and the final penny was tossed by Chris into the biggest wishing well we could find: the ocean.

Marc, Margarete, Eric and all of Mahoney Road, we love you and we’re thinking about you.  Happy birthday, Jena, breathe easy.

Pennies left…

  • At Nora’s favorite hangout
  • Right in the middle of Main Street
  • For a friend
  • For a stranger
  • In a forgotten place
  • At the end of the road
  • Overlooking luxury
  • On a bridge
  • At Sankaty Head
  • In a historic place
  • On a doorstep
  • For a bicyclist
  • At Alter Rock
  • And tossed with a wish for a cure:

To learn more about Margarete, please visit her website.  To see more penny pictures visit Beyond Breathing’s Facebook page.  You can read why pennies are significant here and you can donate to the Cassalina’s CF fundraising efforts here.

⇗ Open full size image
0 of 0
TAGS:Friends
4 Comments
Share
  • Margarete
    March 14, 2012

    I am without words…

    Reply
  • Veronica
    March 14, 2012

    What wonderful, kind, amazing words; ALL too true. People like Margarete are so far and few between, unfortunately. Her words, spoken with conviction, promise and love are a tonic for all to hear and learn from. This was a wonderful passage to read this morning, Amber- I can tell just by this that you are also a woman with a huge heart. Keep on giving, keep on breathing. xoxo

    Reply
  • Lovelorn Poets
    March 14, 2012

    Amber, that was great! I love this post and the photos.

    Reply
  • Carisa
    March 14, 2012

    Amber, I too am honored to call Margarete my friend. Your wonderful words about her ring perfect and true. I never met Jena but I have felt her spirit of love. I found exactly 19 pennies in my desk drawer and spent yesterday spreading Jena pennies ans Jena love.

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Comment

Recipe Rating




Previous Post
Report Card
Next Post
Wordless Wednesday: Pi

Life Right Now

aucoeur

View

Aug 16

17 4
Open
First day of school. 8th grade, 4th grade, kindergarten, and pre-k 3.

aucoeur

View

Jul 16

9 1
Open
Z was Raja in an Aladdin production through her dance studio @pasgeorgetown this evening and she did such a great job. I loved watching her. She took a year off dance and is getting back into it and you'd barely know she took any time off, plus she had a big smile on her face the whole time - I could tell she was having a ton of fun. ♥️

aucoeur

View

May 29

15 0
Open
What happens when you go on a long weekend trip with only your husband, no kids, and no agenda? 

Lots of walking, cocktails in the middle of the day, singing at a piano bar, and time to write a blog post for the first time in nearly two years. Which I did! 

😮 For real. LOL 😊

Read it at https://amberhinds.com/2022/05/celebrating-15-years/

aucoeur

View

May 28

29 4
Open
Today Chris and I have been married for 15 years. We're celebrating with our first weekend away from children while my mom watches all four girls. We rented an old Victorian from the 1800s near the coast in Galveston, Texas and spent the day at a spa, eating delicious food, walking the beach under the stars, and finished the night with a bottle of bourbon saved from when we lived on Nantucket. I'm not sure I could have asked for a much better day. I even had an oppotunity to get out the lightship basket purse Chris gave me for our 5th anniversary. ♥️

aucoeur

View

Apr 2

6 0
Open
Multitasking between performances at this weekend's dance competition.

Image Alt: open laptop showing the Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker website in the foreground and an empty stage in a crowded auditorium.
  • Start Reading
  • Explore Topics
  • Get in Touch
  • Subscribe

COPYRIGHT © 2020 AMBER HINDS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Site Powered by Pix & Hue.