Mother makes quilts for kids battling cancer

GALVESTON — Amanda Blanda’s inspiration to make quilts for sick children came six years ago.

Blanda, a West End resident, was in Lakewood Church in Houston, and the Rev. Joel Osteen was speaking about how his mother, Dodie, overcame liver cancer.

Doctors in 1981 told Dodie Osteen she had only weeks to live and advised her to get her affairs in order, the pastor said.

But Dodie Osteen had other plans. She opened the Bible and sought out 40 scriptures promising healing, her son told Lakewood Church members. She beat the cancer and is part of Lakewood’s leadership today.

Blanda said God spoke to her that day. The mother of two grown, healthy boys decided to put scriptures in quilts and send them to children battling disease, she said.

Since that day, Blanda, who is married to professional poker player Bill Blanda, has dedicated much of her spare time to the couple’s ministry, “By His Stripes,” which to date has donated more than 500 quilts to children and adults.

Blanda derived the name of the ministry from Isaiah 53:5: “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”

Blanda spends at least $500 of her family’s own money buying fabric, materials and shipping colorful quilts to comfort children all across the nation.

She’s particularly fond of frog patterns, because F-R-O-G stands for “Fully rely on God,” she said.

She sends scriptures in English or Spanish, depending on the recipient.

When Blanda first began the ministry, she approached some hospitals, including M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

But because M.D. Anderson is part of the state-funded University of Texas System, it can’t accept materials with religious references, Blanda said.

Blanda said she doesn’t feel comfortable pushing her beliefs on others and sometimes will write families for approval before sending quilts with scriptures.

But often, she likes to surprise the recipients, many whom she finds out about through Web sites.

One Web site is caringbridge.org, a nonprofit that provides free Web sites to ease the burden of keeping family and friends informed about a someone’s illness.

Blanda has a stack of thank-you cards from quilt recipients or from their family. Sometimes, she has to endure the news that someone she has sent a quilt to has died, she said.

Comforting and encouraging sick children is the first goal of By His Stripes. But Blanda also wants to raise awareness of pediatric cancer, a cause she said is often overshadowed by other causes with multimillion marketing budgets.

Most people know National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October and that the campaign ribbon is pink.

But few know Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is in September and the campaign’s ribbon is gold.

For every $6 research per patient with HIV and every $1 research per patient with breast cancer, a child with cancer receives only 30 cents, according to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit charity that raises money for research.

Childhood cancer is the No. 1 cause of nonaccidental death in children. Each day, 46 U.S. children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer, according to the foundation.

“I hope I can raise awareness,” Blanda said. “But I’m just one little person.”

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On The Web

• caringbridge.org

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Giving Back

This is the first in a new and ongoing series about Galveston County residents who, through acts big and small, are making lives better. If you would like to suggest someone, e-mail us at newsroom(at)galvnews.com. Include a description up 50 words about him or her and your name and phone number.