The Dragonfly Foundation is a local group of people who have come together to bring joy and comfort to children who are suffering from
cancer or other blood disorders. Being up at Cincinnati Children’s hospital all the time with rachel in the oncology unit, had opened my eyes to how
many sick kids there are in cincinnati alone. it was really difficult for me the first few times there walking by rooms with INFANTS in them. Even
before rachel was diagnosed, i’m proud to be part of Saints Helping Saints, a group of Seton high school alums who are helping multiple families,
two alums in particular have very small children with cancer. a few mths ago, nori, rach, and i visited mady in her hospital room. she’s only a couple
mths behind nori and at the time was only 7ish mths. To see her stuck in this hospital crib, all hooked up, and weak from just finishing a round of chemo,
i was at a loss for words. it was very hard to fight the tears as i held my healthy, independent baby, while we stood above mady. nori and her immediately
shared some smiles and waves. it would have melted anyone’s heart. it was a real smack in the face to me of how blessed i/we are. almost days later i was
was contacted to be part of the dragonfly foundation as a photographer to shoot events etc. absolutely, i would do that for these kids. this was the
first event i could make, and IT WAS A BLAST!!!!! the ringling barnum & bailey perfomers held a meet and greet with all the TDF kids. my friend
stephanie lyell, came and helped me capture the loads of smiles, you can see her rockstar images here. thanks for driving all the way from lexington!!
unfortunately with it still being so cold out, many of the kids couldn’t make it because they are on restriction with cold/flu season. 
her shirt reads, “ask me about my heart transplant.” i never got the opportunity to ask, but i’m sure her triumphant story is amazing.
the circus dressed up one of the TDF kids for the pre-show. super cool. she looks darling!
Christine and one of the little girls from TDF were guest ringmasters. they introduced the start of the circus! she was so adorable.
“welcome to the greatest show on earrrrrrth!” 
adam, my folks, nori and my niece olivia, joined us in the FIRST ROW! it was so awesome. nori pointed and screamed pretty much the whole show!
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! hahaahaha. anyone else who saw the circus, did this happen your night too? it must have been planned.
my big girl is so cute!!
since it’s been a good 20+ yrs since my last circus, my perspective is completely different. it’s still stinkin’ cool and so exciting…but i think i had
like 12 panic attacks. seriously, i could barely breath, much less watch when all 7 of those motorbikes spun round and round in that sphere.
HOW DO THEY DO THAT??? no really, i dont get it. thanks to TDF for having me. a night i’ll never forget. heart, melanie.
