Cherokee's Story

Cherokee's Story

Heritage Makers' consultant Carrie Scanlan and her client Debbie recently completed a very special project for Debbie's daughter Cherokee.
Debbie: I put together my first Heritage Makers book for our daughter Cherokee, for her 10th birthday. I thought it would be special since she would be hitting double digits! I had no idea how much this book would mean to us when I sent it in to be published.
Carrie: I scanned about 200 pictures and laid everything out for Debbie. Then we sat down together at my home computer and spent almost three hours deciding on the journaling.
The book is written to Cherokee from her parents about the first ten years of her life. It documents all her birthdays, her family, school life, athletic career, and what a wonderful young lady she is becoming. We cried a lot. And cried even more when we found out about Cherokee's condition.
Debbie: The day before her 10th birthday, Cherokee was admitted to the hospital where she was diagnosed with an AVM (arterio-venous malformation) on the left side of her brain. The next day, her actual birthday, we were able to take Cherokee home to celebrate, and the book arrived that very afternoon! My husband and I sat going over and over the pages, talking about every photograph and the memories each one holds. We cried, both of us grateful to have the book to remind of us of the extraordinary memories, the 10 years we've been so blessed to share with our daughter, and we know we'll never again take for granted a single day in our little girl's life.
The book of our daughter's first 10 years has traveled across country with us to be shown to family and friends, and when Cherokee undergoes brain surgery on March 24th, the book will be with us to hold on to during her surgery. We're so happy we made it when we did, we love it and we look forward to making her next one!
Carrie: This story has inspired me to help others tell their untold stories.