Special Delivery: Our First Wish List Package

Special Delivery: Our First Wish List Package

by | May 25, 2025 | General

We got our very first Sparkle Strong wishlist delivery, and it was exactly what my tired mama heart needed. Inside the box was a stress relief coloring book, a teen journal and a pack of glitter pens. Who doesn’t love a good glitter pen?! They’re going into aSparkle Strong Survival Kit for an older child in the CICU.

This package was was a wish fulfilled by one of our amazing Instagram followers. She doesn’t know the teen who’ll receive this, but she knew it mattered. That’s what this whole thing is about. Teens often get overlooked in hospital life. But they still need comfort, connection and moments that feel like their own. This kit will give one child that kind of moment.

Starting a nonprofit while living full-time in the CICU isn’t exactly the traditional route. But this? This is where it starts. One delivery. One moment of care. One spark.

If you want to help fill the next kit, our wish list is always open.

Thanks for standing with us. We’re just getting started.

3/4 Cup of Sweetness: Jewels’s 9 Month CICU Birthday

3/4 Cup of Sweetness: Jewels’s 9 Month CICU Birthday

by | May 13, 2025 | Celebrations, Tips

In a place where alarms and uncertainty often fill the air, we’ve made it our mission to infuse every possible moment with love and a little bit of sparkle. And for Baby Jewels’s ¾ birthday, we served up just that in the form of sugar, smiles and the sweetest bakery-themed celebration the CICU has ever seen.

We dreamed up the sweetest party that was equal parts meaningful and magical because when you’re celebrating life in the CICU, you go big in every way you can.

We celebrate each of Jewels’s monthly birthdays, but the quarter marks get a little extra frosting. When you’re walking through the fire, every single moment is something worth making beautiful. Her half birthday was a turning point. When comfort care was suggested, hope felt like something we had to fight for. Now, at 9 months old, we continue to celebrate not just that she is here but that there is hope.

The Sweetest Details

For her ¾ milestone, we leaned all the way into our recipe-themed dreams:

🧁 A bakery backdrop binder clipped to one side of the crib and adorable banners draped around the room
📝 Recipe card station for visitors to share dishes or sweets she can try when she comes home
🍪 Cookie party favors
💅 Bakery-scented hand sanitizer favors
📚 A baking-themed book that became her guest book, signed with love
👩‍🍳 A tiny cupcake outfit and baker’s play set just for Jewels

Thanks to kindhearted professional photographer, Ellen Turcan (found through a local women’s Facebook group), we were able to capture the entire setup — and the joy — beautifully. And I even got to be in the pictures! We all know that moms are usually behind the camera, so it was great to be in the memories, too.

Staff stopped by throughout the day to sign her book, drop off a recipe or wish our girl a happy birthday. When it came time to sing, our amazing nurses made sure the hallway was full and the moment was all hers.

I wouldn’t change a thing.

This celebration was a reflection of everything Sparkle Strong stands for: Finding joy in the in-between, choosing celebration in the CICU and giving families something real and tangible to hold onto. These moments are our lifelines. And I can’t wait to pour even more sweetness into her first birthday party (spoiler alert: it’s going to be magical!).

@magicmemoriesmayhem Happy 9 months, sweetie girl!! We love you big!! 🎂🩷💎💪🏾 #SparkleStrong #SparkleStrongJewels #CHDAwareness #HeartWarrior #HeartMom #HeartFamily #CongenitalHeartDefect #HLHS #HeartTransplant #CICU #CICULife ♬ a dream is a wish your heart makes - christina perri
Celebrating Our CICU Heroes: Nurse Appreciation Week from a Teacher’s Heart

Celebrating Our CICU Heroes: Nurse Appreciation Week from a Teacher’s Heart

by | May 6, 2025 | Celebrations, Tips

The first week of May is a special one! Nurse Appreciation Week and Teacher Appreciation Week fall at the same time. And as a teacher currently out of the classroom, I was feeling that absence hard. But this year, with our sweet Baby Jewels in the CICU, I decided to channel that energy into celebrating the people who’ve become our lifeline: her incredible nursing team!

A Teacher’s Love, Reimagined

Teaching is all about showing up for others in creative, meaningful ways, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do for the nurses who care for our girl like she’s their own. So, I got to work creating a little joy right there in the hospital.

The Treat Cart: Snacks & Sparkles for the Whole Team

For the broader team of nurses, techs and RTs who care for Jewels around the clock, I repurposed something we call Jewels’s cuddle cart (more on that in a future post!) and turned it into a rolling snack and self-care station.

On the cart:

  • Iced energy drinks (I feel bonus points are in order for the creative use of the hospital tubs!)

  • Leftover motivational classroom stickers (because who doesn’t love a sticker?)

  • Salty snacks and candy

  • Donated mocha cakes from MGQ Food & Design

The cart was parked in our room but easily rolled out into the hallway whenever I could, making it accessible but still J-Co friendly, just in case food out in the open became an issue.

DIY Goodie Bags for Jewels’s Care Team

For her primary care team, I put together personalized goodie bags using canvas makeup bags personalized with HTV (heat transfer vinyl) because you know I had to get crafty. I filled each one with:

  • Lip balm

  • Pretty pens

  • Hair clips

  • Hand cream

  • Electrolyte water enhancers

They were simple, useful, and fun, just like something I’d give to my fellow teachers in a past life.

Tips for Doing It Your Way

I didn’t go super budget on this one (shopping has been an outlet), but I did snag great Target Circle deals and coupons to keep costs in check and take advantage of Target 360 delivery to the hospital. If you’re looking to save:

  • Check clearance bins and Easter closeout

  • Skip the HTV and use pre-printed pouches or simple kraft bags

  • Keep your cart or drop-off gifts limited to one or two days instead of a full week

Planning Ahead

One little thing I did that I highly recommend: I offered a quick “favorites” questionnaire to Jewels’s core team so I’d have ideas for future holidays or hard days when I want to treat them again. (Nothing over the top—just fun info like their favorite snacks, drinks, pens, etc.)

A Final Word

Next year, I hope we’re not spending Nurses Week in the CICU, but if we are, I may scale it down to a day or two depending on time and finances. After all, I’m still a single, unemployed teacher. wink

Honestly, though, the best part wasn’t the cart or the gifts. It was watching nurses and staff stop by, smile and pick up something that said “We see you!” That’s what appreciation is all about, Charlie Brown.

@magicmemoriesmayhem Happy Nurses Week! 🩷 #SparkleStrong #SparkleStrongJewels #CHDAwareness #HeartWarrior #HeartMom #HeartFamily #CongenitalHeartDefect #HLHS #HeartTransplant #nurseappreciationweek #NursesWeek #cicu #icu #iculife ♬ Candy Dream - chill kawaii girl

Free Printables

Want to create your own nurse appreciation cart or decorate your door? Don’t forget to slip them in a page protector or laminate them if you’re putting them up on your door.

Download the free Nurse Appreciation Week sign (PDF)

Download the free Thank a Nurse sign (PDF)

A Burst of Brightness for Heart Families

A Burst of Brightness for Heart Families

by | May 1, 2025 | General

When you’re navigating life in the CICU, it can feel like so much is out of your hands. I know that feeling deeply. In the early days with Baby Jewels, I found myself clinging to the few things I could control and pouring my energy into making them count.

That’s what this space is for.

On the Heartbeats & Highlights blog, you’ll find practical, actionable (and dare I say, fun?!) tips to make CICU life a little brighter. From decorating your hospital room, hyping up your nurses and creating small celebrations that bring big joy, we’re here for the things you can do. Things that give you back a little power, a little peace and a little sparkle.

This isn’t a place that denies the hard stuff. We hold space for the sorrow and frustration, too. But in a world that can be overwhelmingly serious, sometimes choosing joy is its own kind of healing.

Sparkle Strong is about giving a burst of brightness and validation in the uncertainty of CICU life. Whether you’re in the thick of it or standing beside someone who is, we’re so glad you’re here.

There’s so much good stuff ahead, and I hope it helps you feel just a little more capable and a little less alone.

Love,
Jess