Wow! What a great benefit!

Thursday night's benefit concert at the Coat of Arms was AMAZING!!  So many wonderful people put in a lot of effort, time and love to make it such a wonderful event, and we (Pat and her family) are soooooo grateful.  We couldn't thank you all enough.  From The Coat for being our generous host, to our friends that helped plan and execute everything, to the bands that played, the businesses and friends that donated items for the raffle, and all the awesome people that came to support Pat.  Wow.  I'm speechless.  

I have posted a whole album of photos over on our Facebook Group Page, so be sure to check there to see them all.  I will post a sampling of them here.

I'll start with our lovely guest of honor, Pat:

Next, our musical acts:

 

Then we have pictures of the great face and body painting by Pat's best friend, Diane:

And last but not least, our Raffle Table:

If you entered the Raffle and are wondering if you won anything, Pat & Steve have taken the items that have not yet been distributed to their studio, Foxfire Studio Inc., and will be notifying the winners so they can be picked up there.  Please let me know if you have any questions - patdonation@gmail.com.

It turned out to be a very fun night, and we hope you all enjoyed yourselves.  

I also would like to mention that we have had some more PayPal donations come through recently and again, thank you for those.  It is so greatly appreciated.  Every little bit helps, so please pass on the blog link to get the word out.  

THANK YOU, everyone!!  :)

So what's in the Raffle??

Wondering what you could win at the Benefit Concert raffle tomorrow night??  Here ya go!!

  

Here are the items that are up for Raffle:

$200 gift certificate from Jim's Tattoo

2 hours of tattoo time from Eric at Tattoo Junkies

2 certificates for a piercing from Chris at Tattoo Junkies

Artwork from Hobo's and Iron Works Tattoo

4 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies

Massage by Harmony Hill Massage

Gift certificates from the Blue Moon Evolution, Loaf and Ladle, The Kitchen, Silver Moon Creperie, Rising Phoenix Martial Arts, Jaie To Z, Eclips Salon, Foxfire Studio, MusicalArts, Panera

Weekend stay in North Conway

2 hand bags made by Maitraya Black

Scratchboard Art by Bob Goudreau

12x12 Painting by Janice Cormier

Handmade Beach Bag by Judith Nevers

2 pairs of handmade earrings by Delightful Designs

So get your bums down to The Coat tomorrow night and try to win some cool stuff!!  :)

May 12th Benefit Poster

Here is the poster for the Benefit Concert!  (Click to view larger).  It's 11x17 size, but I'm sure if you format it properly, it could be printed on 8.5x11 paper.  Feel free to print some out and hang them up!  Spread the word, and we'll see you there!!  :)

Benefit - Raffle items and music

**UPDATES!!

So far, these are some of the raffle items we will have available to win at the Benefit Concert on May 12:

$200 gift certificate from Jim's Tattoo
2 hours of tattoo time from Eric at Tattoo Junkies
2 certificates for a piercing from Chris at Tattoo Junkies
Artwork from Hobo's and Iron Works Tattoo
Gift certificates from the Blue Moon Evolution, Loaf and Ladle, The Kitchen, Silver Moon Creperie, Rising Phoenix Martial Arts, Jaie To Z, Eclips Salon, Foxfire Studio
Weekend stay in North Conway
2 hand bags made by Maitraya Black
12x12 Painting by Janice Cormier
Handmade Beach Bag by Judith Nevers
Jewelry by Dyan Brisson

... Plus more!!

Raffle tickets will be sold at the price of $5 for 1, or $10 for 3.  We will also be selling tickets separately for a 50/50 raffle (same ticket prices).  The cover at the door will be $7.

There will be a table set up with Diane Teong, best friend of Pat and also an accomplished artist, and she will be offering body and/or face painting for a suggested donation.

Also, we added a 4th music act, so the line up is ~ WEC, The Wendigos, Jupiter 2, Nate Laban

I hope you all can make it!  And tell your friends, family, co-workers!  It will certainly be a fun time!

**If you'd like to purchase raffle tickets in advance, please email me at patdonation@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do for you...

Soon we will have a poster to hang up and we'd appreciate help from people to post them around your local areas.

THANKS!

Raffle tickets

Hello again. We now have the raffle tix in hand for the Benefit Concert on May 12. If you or anyone you know would like to purchase some beforehand (we are doing a 50/50 too!) - let us know!!  Prices - 1 ticket for $5, or 3 tickets for $10.

Also - I got an email from someone who found this blog while looking up "Pat Morrissey".  He was looking to get some Magic the Gathering cards autographed.  I have passed along this request to Pat to see what she thinks, but I'm thinking that could be a great fundraiser as well.  So, if you are here because you are a Magic fan and you have some cards illustrated by Pat Morrissey, feel free to contact me at patdonation@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do for you!  Also, tell your friends about this blog and feel free to post the link for others.  Curious which cards Pat illustrated?  See this link.  :)  Here are a couple examples:

 

I am also still trying to get people to "donate" their Twitter or Facebook statuses to spread the word.  Please consider putting up one of these messages so we can let more people know about our fundraising efforts ~

Twitter:  "HELP PAT @ http://patdonation.blogspot.com/. Donate ur Twitter msg 2day. Copy & paste this into ur feed. Let's show her our support! Thanks!"

Facebook:  "Pat Lewis needs our help - HELP PAT @ http://patdonation.blogspot.com/. Please read the blog, consider a donation, or at the very least, donate your status message today. **Copy & paste this status** onto your Wall. Let's show her our support! Thank you!"

Thanks, everybody!!  :)

Change in Bands...

Unfortunately, Vaast had to drop out of the benefit because one of the members will be traveling during that time, BUT we will now have The Wendigos instead!  They just won the Battle of the Bands at UNH and we are excited to have them join us on May 12th. 

We are still in the process of collecting donation items, so please contact us if you have something to donate for the raffle.  The poster is being designed as well, so stay tuned for that and help us distribute them, if you can.

Please also pass along the PayPal Donation link ~ Donations are still greatly appreciated to help Steve & Pat get back on their feet, financially.  Maybe "donate" your Twitter or Facebook status for a couple hours to promote this blog to your circle of friends and ask them to do the same.  If we can start a chain reaction, we could get lots more visibility in a short period of time. 

Thank you all for your help so far!  Your support has been wonderful!

Organization time...

Hello everyone ~

It's time to start getting everything organized for the Benefit Concert at The Coat.  We are trying to get all of our donated raffle items in hand as soon as possible.  If you or someone you know was planning on donating something, please contact us as soon as you can at patdonation@gmail.com or through the FB event or group page.  We need to collect the items and see exactly what we've got.

We will also be making a poster pretty soon and may need some help putting them up around the neighborhood.  :)  I'll be sure to put it up here on the blog so it can be printed if you'd like to assist.  We can use all the help we can get to spread the word.  This benefit is going to be such a good time!!

Thanks so much!  We really appreciate all the great donations!

PS - Update on bands ~  We finalized our three bands.  They will be WEC, Vaast and Jupiter 2.  Tell your friends!  :)~

Helping Pat & getting exposure for your small business!

 

Click on image to see it full size...

Great night!

Well I just got home from the benefit at Flatbread.  It was great!!  So many friends showed up.  I did lots of mingling (and of course, pizza eating! - oh and delicious brownie sundae too... ).  Thanks to all who came out, as well as all who helped put it together at the last minute.  You all ROCK!  :)  My dad and Pat were too pooped to join in, but they are so very grateful to everyone for participating.  It's been such a blessing to have so many great people helping us out. 

While I was there, I was able to discuss some more details about the Benefit Concert at the Coat of Arms (Thur. May 12th, 7pm).  Boy, is this thing going to be awesome!  Sooooo many fantastic raffle items have been donated.  We are talking hundreds of dollars worth of stuff!  And I think we will have all the bands finalized in the next couple days.  Next step will be making the poster, collecting all the raffle items up and getting organized.  We will most likely have a 50/50 raffle as well.  And Pat's best friend, Diane (also a talented artist) will have a table set up for face and/or body painting for a suggested donation.  That will be so fun!

So be sure to keep talking it up to your friends so we can make it as successful as possible!  I think it's going to be a blast - you are not going to want to miss out!

Eat yummy pizza @ Flatbread Tuesday!

**LAST MINUTE** Benefit for Pat @ Flatbread, Portsmouth! THIS TUESDAY!

***Working out details so stay tuned, but possible last minute Benefit for Pat at Flatbread Pizza in Portsmouth - Tues. Apr. 5th from 4-9pm ~ % of $ coming in would go to help Pat!***

Tell everyone you know to patronize this fantastic pizza restaurant on Tuesday night!!  It's delicious!  :)

Hives??

Okay, so Pat made it home on Saturday.  Great news.  But - has had a couple trips to the ER already since.  Stinky news.  She broke out in hives and I guess they are assuming she had some kind of allergic reaction to one of the prescriptions she was on... strange.  Anyway, other than that, the transition home seems to be going fairly well.  I'm a little bummed because I won't be able to visit as much, since their house is much farther away from me than the hospital was, but hey, that's ok!  She's home!  :)

The planning for the Benefit Concert is coming along swimmingly.  Once we have the final bands confirmed, we'll be designing posters to hang up.  We'll need to plaster the area, so any volunteers who may like to hang posters, please let me know!  I hope to also send out a press release to local media to let them know about the event and spread the word.  Our collection of donated items for the raffle is continuing to grow, which is fantastic.  Again, if you or anyone you know has anything they'd like to donate, please contact us @ patdonation@gmail.com. 

Thanks for all your support, donations and well wishes thus far!  It's been amazing!

Going HOME!

** 3/25/11 **

Pat got the news yesterday that she will be sent HOME tomorrow!!  They feel that she is doing well enough to go home instead of being transferred to a facility.  She will continue to go to the hospital for physical therapy, but she can enjoy the comfort of her own home for the first time in over a month!  Such great news!  :)

We have had a great response so far for the Benefit Concert.  Several more donations have come in for the raffle.  I forgot to mention that there will be items from Foxfire Studio, Tattoo Junkies, and Bryan Rutland.  A second band called Vaast has agreed to play at the Benefit as well.

We also got several more donations through our PayPal link, as well as our first through GiveForward.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Please continue to pass these links along, as every little bit we get is a HUGE help.

Benefit concert updates

** 3/23/11 **

Hello again,

I just wanted to let you all know that an event page has been created on Facebook for the Benefit Concert.  Please head over to it and let us know if you'll be able to attend.  Also invite others.  We are still working on bands.  Jupiter 2 is confirmed.  Unfortunately, Gazpacho was already booked on May 12th, but we have a few others that we are waiting to hear from.

We have already had a bunch of great raffle items donated, including some original art, handmade jewelry, gift certificates for Rising Phoenix Martial Arts, Silver Moon Creperie, Jaie To Z, MusicalArts, Eclips Salon.... so please, come check them out and get a chance to win!  If you know of any other people or businesses who may like to donate to the raffle, please let us know.

Pat is continuing to do very well with her progress.  She is still in the hospital, waiting to get the go ahead to be transferred to rehab.  She enjoys getting the cards and well wishes people are sending.  If you would like to know where to send cards or letters, feel free to contact me and I can let you know.  Please also continue to spread the word about the donation account.  We have had many generous donations thus far, and they are very much appreciated!

Thank you, everyone!  :)

Benefit Concert

**  3/19/11 **

There will be a benefit concert fundraiser for Pat & Steve in May at the Coat of Arms Pub in Portsmouth.  We are working out the details of date/time as well as bands who may play.  If you have any connections to local bands who would like to donate their time for this great cause, please let me know!

~*~ The benefit concert will be held on Thursday, May 12th, Jupiter 2 will play, and other bands are T.B.A. Band start time 7pm, but we can probably all gather earlier than that... pass it on! ~*~

Also ~ We are looking for donation items to be used in a Raffle - gift certificates, handmade items/art, anything you can think of that people would be interested in winning in a raffle.

THANKS!

~ Updates on Pat ~ Yesterday she got to sit outside in the sun for the first time since she got sick, and she also walked down the hallway with a fancy walker for the first time too!  :)

-- Also, if you use Facebook, please consider joining our Group Page and invite anyone you know that might like to be involved and get updates.  Thank you!

Tears of Happiness!

** 3/18/11 **

Last night, my sister and I (she was over speaker phone with me) told my dad and Pat about the donations that have come in for them and about this little secret project we've had going on for 2 weeks.  I presented them with a fake check that I drew up showing the total amount that has been received up until this point.  Boy were they surprised, shocked, humbled... it was awesome.  It had been a rough day and to have that as a nice end to the day was really wonderful.  My dad said he had been losing faith - in people, in himself, in God - and that all this, especially the wonderful generosity of people who care, has restored his faith.  Pat burst out crying several times during the conversation while my sister and I explained the whole process and how many people had been happy to help so far, in just two weeks.  The hospital room was full of love and happiness.  It's really hard to put into words how amazing it was.  Thank you all again, from the bottom of our hearts!

On another note, there are some other little projects underway that I mentioned in the last blog post.  One of them will definitely be happening and I plan on going to a meeting tonight to talk over details.  It would be a benefit concert in Portsmouth with music and raffles and a few other fun things thrown in.  We plan on making sure it is done right, so it will probably be several weeks until the event happens, but we want to make sure the word gets out to all of Pat and Steve's friends and family so that they may be able to participate if they like.  I will definitely be putting up the final details with dates/times for you all when I know what they are.

Thank you again for reading my updates and please, feel free to pass this information along to anyone who may be out of the loop.  The internet is a wonderful thing, but I'm limited by who is in my little circles of friends and family.  So pass it on!  THANKS!!!  xoxox

~ Jaie ~

PS - I forgot to mention the progress Pat has made this past week.  She took her first steps and has regained the ability to use a pen and paper to write her name.  We are so happy!

More stuff in the works...

** 3/12/11 **

A couple friends of ours have been nice enough to help us work on putting together a benefit of sorts.  They are looking into venues (The Stone Church, The Coat of Arms) and bands who would be willing to participate in a fundraiser.  As things progress, I'll be sure to let you all know.  Hopefully we can pull something together and we can all take part in it.  What could be more fun than some live music, knowing that the proceeds will go to a good cause?!

Please stay tuned... and again, feel free to email me at patdonation@gmail.com with any other ideas or questions.

Quick update...

** 3/11/11 **

Just so you all know, Pat is doing really well.  PT and OT are going great.  She's making progress, even if it's just baby steps.  All the nurses and doctors are calling her a miracle because they didn't think she would make it through this!  So thank you to all who have been praying and sending your good vibes.  They certainly helped!  They say that once she is released from the hospital (in a week or 2 maybe?) she will go stay at a rehab facility for several weeks to continue getting back to herself.  She's been moving her arms around, sitting up (with some assistance), using utensils to eat, etc.

As far as donations go, in just a week, many of our friends and family have been so generous!  We are so pleased and appreciative.  Pat and Steve still don't know about it, but we are hoping to be able to give them the first installment soon and tell them the news.  Boy will they be surprised!  Thank you to all who have donated so far, and please feel free to let others know about this blog if they are wondering how things are going.

How did we get here?

** 3/5/11 **

Here is a quick back-story for anyone who doesn't know all the details about how we got to this point ~

On Feb. 17th, Pat was feeling very ill and Steve decided to take her to the emergency room. While there, it was discovered that Pat had a very aggressive and fast-moving infection. She was rushed to surgery the next morning which ended up removing some painful and inflamed lymph nodes from her chest. She was in a severe state of sepsis. She was placed in a medically induced coma and received ongoing dialysis. After several days, the doctors decided to try to wake her up. It took about a week but she has come out of the coma and is now able to talk through the trach tube in her neck (which will be temporary). She has very limited movement and is going to require a lot of rehab to get back to her normal self again.  All this time spent in the Critical Care Unit at the hospital and the time that she will need to spend at a rehab facility is certainly wracking up quite a large medical bill, not to mention the fact that Pat & Steve have not been able to work at their place of business during all of this. Also, being small business owners, they do not have any health insurance. This is precisely why we are here.  We have already had several friends and family members ask us how they can help. If you were thinking about sending flowers, unfortunately they are not allowed on the Critical Care Unit, but if you would like, you can apply the money that you would have spent on flowers to a donation instead.  Please also feel free to contact us at patdonation@gmail.com with any ideas, suggestions or questions. We are certainly open to any other avenues that we can pursue to help Pat and Steve out!  Thank you so much for your time and we truly appreciate your help.

~ Pat & Steve's family ~

** 3/7/11 UPDATE: Pat was moved out of the CCU to a regular hospital room yesterday**