10% Donated to Help Transplant Patients

Angel Cove Donates 10% of Profits to Help Organ Transplant Patients and Recipients

Angel Cove will give a portion of all sales from its online store to help others pay for medical cost and expenses accrued as a result of organ transplantation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jun 08, 2009 – MILWAUKEE, WI – Angel Cove announced today that it will donated 10% of all profits from its online organ donation and transplant awareness shop to the UW-Madison Laurie Ferber fund which benefits heart and lung transplant patients at UW Hospital and Clinics by defraying the cost of accommodations, travel and other unexpected expenses.

This fund was established several years ago in honor of a lung transplant recipient to address to special needs of Heart and Lung Transplant recipients and their families. The money donated to this fund has been used in the past to provide a computer with Internet access to patients who are hospitalized, support of cardiopulmonary transplant patient events, and other general needs of our patients and their families including prescription and transplant procedure medical costs. All donations will support the continuing effort to provide funding for the special requests of heart and lung transplant recipients and their families.

"Our donation to the Laurie Ferber Fund will help strengthen the overall community and support needed for those waiting for their life-saving transplant, transplant recipients and the family that never leaves their sides. We are proud to be supporters of the effort to improve organ donation awareness and help those in their time of need. Having an organ transplant is stressful enough without having to worry about the money to pay for such expenses," said Shannon Steffen, Owner of Angel Cove and Wife of Bilateral Lung Transplant Recipient.

At Angel Cove, customers can view hundreds of organ donation and transplant awareness designs on a variety of products including sweatshirts, men’s clothing, women’s apparel, kid’s gear, mugs, bumper stickers, fashionable totes and so much more.

For more information on the Laurie Ferber Fund and to start raising organ donation awareness, please visit: http://www.angelcove.us

Organic Organ Donation Awareness Shirts!

Awareness T-shirts Expanded to Brand New Line of Organic Clothing at Angel Cove

Angel Cove expands its line of Organ Donation Awareness T-shirts to include a brand new line of organic T-shirts, baby shirts and kids tees.

For Immediate Release

MILWAUKEE, WI – May 12, 2009 – Angel Cove announces the launch of its expanded line of organ donation and transplant awareness t-shirts, with a new line of organic shirts added to their already extensive selection. These T-shirts and infant bodysuits are 100% organic ultra-fine ring-spun cotton. This new line of organic products includes Organic Cotton Tees, Organic Mens T-Shirts, Organic Women's Shirts, Organic Womens Fitted Apparel, Baby Organic Bodysuits, Baby Organic Clothing, Organic Toddler T-Shirts, Organic Kid Shirts and Reusable Green Tote Bags with beautiful artistic designs help show your support for transplant recipients, organ donors, family and friends while remaining comfortable and eco-friendly.

“It’s a personal matter for me as I have seen what miracles organ donation can perform first-hand. That is why I offer hundreds of unique organ donation and transplantation health support designs with green ribbons and powerful slogans, including iSupport the Gift of Life, Be a Hero – Be An Organ Donor, and Peace-Love-Life. I feel strongly about continuing to do my part to bring awareness to this cause, and I am very proud to celebrate my 4th year doing so. We all need to do our part in raising awareness and this is just my way of helping others realize the impact one selfless act can have on others.” says Shannon Steffen, Angel Cove’s owner, designer, and wife of bilateral lung transplant recipient.

At Angel Cove, customers can view hundreds of organ donation and transplant awareness designs on a variety of products including sweatshirts, men’s clothing, women’s apparel, kid’s gear, mugs, bumper stickers, fashionable totes and so much more. Raise awareness today with http://www.angelcove.us.

About Angel Cove

Angel Cove is a small, privately owned company that creates and sells original organ donation and transplant awareness art and designs on quality apparel and gift items through the Internet. It is the goal of the company to deliver creative products that celebrate the gift of life and its impact on the lives of others. To date, the company has sold merchandise to customers in all 50 states online as well as International sales to Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Taiwan, Turkey and more. Visit http://angelcove.us for more information.

New Green Ribbon Awareness Penguin

The green ribbon represents the environment, organ donation and many others messages. Show your support with an green ribbon t-shirt, hoodie, tote bag and more, perfect for penguin lovers.

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Ounce of Prevention... Pound of Cure

The Swine Flu has finally hit our little area of the world and it is touching a little too close to home.

No, we are not ones to run around screaming "the sky is falling" but we know when to take precautions. For instance, I was to attend a major seminar in our area today - a seminar I had been looking forward to for months - but knew better than to attend.

Sure, I know to wash my hands and to cough into my sleeve. I understand exactly what keeps us healthy and what can easily get us sick. However, when you have a person in your house that has been healthy for 4.5 years after receiving a double lung organ transplant, you know when the risk is too great to attend such events.

I don't believe one should hold up in the house and refuse to see another human being while this epidemic exists. Rather, it is about going into situations with your eyes wide open.

This specific event is taking place in the middle of our large city, in a room at a very large conference center, with hundreds of people who are not only from this area but have flown in from other places in the country. Some may have just gotten off their flight this very morning or last night. As airplanes are greater cause for concern, it is no wonder that I wouldn't subject myself to being in close proximity for an entire day with hundreds of people who could possibly be infected and not even know it.

So, for my husband's health and life, I have chosen to decline the event. Sure, I am disappointed but it is a small price to pay to keep him healthy during such a time. His health is priority and nothing is more important than that.

Surround Yourself with the Positive

It is no surprise to say that times are tough. The economy is trying to keep its head afloat and businesses are going under faster than you can say: “Would you like fries with that?”

Now it is more important then ever to surround yourself with positive people and keep yourself in a positive mindset. The problem is that many don’t know what toxic people are and how they can negatively impact your health and well-being.

Signs of a Toxic Person

• Complain all the time
• Blame you for everything
• Always overreacting
• Drain your energy
• Bombard you with negativity
• Constant pessimism
• Always make you angry
• Leech off of you
• Everything is about them all the time

Signs of a Toxic Person in Your Life

• You never want to be around them
• They always make you upset or cry
• You have panic attacks around them
• You dread being around them
• You feel like you need to sleep, eat or drink after being around them
• Life is better when you don’t see, hear from, or deal with them

Toxic people aren’t just your friends or family but can include coworkers, bosses, and even doctors. It is not uncommon to have one or more toxic person in your life that you rely on.

When times are tough, you need a positive support structure. Good health should never be second to having people in your life. There are times when a doctor may give you depressing news but have you ever noticed that some doctor overreact or are always pessimistic?

No one person can tell you how you should live your life or how much time you have in this world. No one can tell you how you should feel or ever make you second-guess yourself.

This is your life, your health and your opportunity to surround yourself with those that add value to your life. If your doctor is a toxic person, find another one. If your friend is always dragging you down or cannot provide the support you need, open yourself to other friends. If your coworkers are constantly bombarding you with negativity, find another job or remove yourself from associating with them on a personal level.

This life is about you. No matter what the world may throw at you, it is up to you to take control over how you react to things in life. You owe it to yourself to surround yourself with life and love – not negativity and a toxic breeding ground.

Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

My grandmother raised me to never judge a book by its cover. This sentiment seems to come full circle every so often and acts as a reminder as to what is truly important in life.

For example, the recent main stream love affair with Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent has caused a world to come face-to-face with this old adage once again. By looking at Susan, you would think she was just a normal middle-age woman with not spectacular talent or gifts to give this world. Yet, when she is done serenading the world with rendition of opera classic, the world cannot help but stand there with its jaw on the floor. Susan Boyle's book cover is nothing special and can easily be ignored but when you open that book you better get a box of tissues because your heart will flood with emotions never felt before.

Listening to Susan Boyle made chime my grandmother's old saying once again and caused me to look at those times in my life where the book cover was hardly worth a second look but once the book was cracked, it was difficult to put down.

That leads me to my husband of 10 years. He is not only my knight in shining armor and best friend but the strongest person I have ever had the pleasure of having in my life. His book cover says demonstrates nothing special - just a normal guy that goes to work every day and makes a living. Beneath the cover is a man that survived a childhood terminal illness called Cystic Fibrosis, watched his older sister pass from that very disease at the age of 16, was picked on throughout childhood for being "different" and geeky, was deathly ill for years and even on life support for 9 months of his young adult life and lastly, but most importantly, survived a 3.5-year wait for a double lung transplant while struggling for air each and every day.

On the cover, he is like everyone else. Just look under the cover, no deeper than under his shirt, and you will see there is a powerful book just waiting to be read. The strength and determination - the will the live and experience life - the will to never give up - and, most importantly, the will to love and experience being loved.

So, next time you see someone's book cover and think you already know how the story reads, give yourself a chance to read deeper for you never know what you may find hidden behind that non-descriptive cover. That person may be the book that changes your life!

Federal Organ Donation?

I was just Twittering around yesterday and searched on "organ donation" to see if anyone else Twitters as much about the subject as I do. The title on one person's message stood out: "And Now: Federal Organ Donation".

What?!?

Following the link, I came across this article "Federal organ donation plan faces local opposition" recently published in a local newspaper. I was in shock as I read through the article and realized that, indeed, the federal government wants to mandate that organs donated be sent out of the state of origin.

The current procedure of organ transplant works in a very simple and logical manner.

"Under the existing rules, the neediest and most appropriate patient in the state receives the donor organ."

The closest hospital to the organ donor receives the first call and if no recepient can be found, then the next closest transplant hospital is called and so on until a suitable match has been found. By following this procedure, my own husband received his donated lungs from just over Lake Michigan in Detroit (we are in Milwaukee).

However, 75% of donated organs stay within the state in which the organ donor has passed. It is possible, with this new plan, that families will be less likely to donate organs if they are leaving their own state.

It seems that the government does not understand that not only will the rate of organ donors be affected but also that the viability of the organs may also suffer. Every minute an organ is in transport to a recipient - every minute it is without blood supply - its viability decreases. In essence, the longer it takes to get to its new home, the more the tissue and organ dies. This increases an already high risk for the patient for the organ to not revive or for the recipient to have transplant rejection.

The current organ donation network procedure allows for greater possibility of a long and healthy life after transplant... so why fix what is not broken?

Hospital systems are asking patients, donor families and other concerned members of the community to voice their opposition to the proposal by April 24 at www.notacoalition.org.