Striving for More (http://www.striving4more.org/) is an organization located in Raleigh, NC dedicated to ensuring that children with cancer and their families receive quality emotional and spiritual support. In addition to organizing events for families affected by childhood cancer, Striving for More also brought the Beads of Courage program to both UNC Children’s Hospital and Duke University’s Children’s Hospital.

Beads of Courage  is a program that allows children tell their meidcal journey using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path. The beads are donated by artists around the world. They really provide a visual story of what each child has endured. http://www.beadsofcourage.org/

I was at the hopital when my friend Ella recived some of her beads. It was a very speccial day, she recieved her bead for losing her hair. That bead is a special face bead. Most of the others are colored glass beads. Ella already has a necklace of beads about as long as she is tall.

Brown bead is for hair loss, blue is for clinic visits, black is for pokes (blood draw, IV, etc), white is for chemotherapy.

Ella selecting her beads with her family.