Thanks CHLA!!

Got some wonderful news yesterday. Children's Hospital in LA would like to make a donation to help with our expenses in making Resilient Hearts. I was fortunate enough to meet the amazing people that make up their Palliative Care teams and participate in a workshop focused on helping them stay resilient. I think one of the toughest parts of my job is working with dying children. How can you not get personally involved? Children are so brave and they know what is happening, and through it all, they are most concerned about their families! There is such love and sadness, I understand how it can take its toll on the nursing and medical staff. I really feel the special things we do to make the child's final days special are as much for us as it it for them and their families. I want to help health care providers to let go let go of any sense of failure and focus on making a child's final journey as loving and special as possible! Thanks Children's Hospital of L A for believing in us!!

Never Giving Up the Dream

I am finding the toughest obstical to completing this film project is myself. It is so easy to feel overwhelmed. Allen has a huge list of tasks for today and I need to be supportive, wish I could work on the film organization full time. I need positive people around me. I think of Timmy D. and the challenges he faces with his music, and all the energy Big Jon puts into promoting teams him set a much needed positive example for me. They never give up the dream. I can add the actors that have agreed to work for just a credit on the film and food. They are holding on to a dream too. I guess the thing to do is focus more on how important the dream is, and things become less daunting. It would be far more painful to give up on the dream. It boils down to believing in yourself and trusting that dreams do come true. I am being very philosophical for 6am in the morning! Now I need to shift gears and do more character backgrounds.

Adam: Adam is an Oncologist who has bought into the traditional way of showing he cares about his patients by coming up with one more treatment, one more study, because when you care you don't give up. He sees no need for "small talk", and doesn't care if he is liked. What is important is that he is doing his job. He is one of those intellectuals that never developed any social skills, and he has no patience with the need to be warm and fuzzy. He was sent to St.Mary's to work with Michael and the Palliative Care team and to learn better better people skills.

Steven: Steven is also an Oncologist with a desire to improve how he can better relate to his patients and staff. He is learning a lot from his experience at St. Mary's and is open and willing to share.

Well so much for today,
I promise to keep dreaming!

Happy Fourth

So strange to be off four days in a row, but Allen and I are putting the time to good use. We hope to have a sight up on Kick-Starter by tonight. Our goal is to raise $30,000 to help finance this film. That may seem like a lot to some, but when you figure that would allow us to pay the actors and crew something and provide them with 2 meals and snacks over the estimated 12 days it will take to shoot this film. We must also cover costume rentals, props, insurance, make-up artists, studio rentals, and the cost of any other permits or fees. It is all so overwhelming but we have so many wonderful people dedicated to the success of this film, I just know it will continue to move forward. We will be posting information about the Kick Starter site when it is completed and made available.

I could not believe how old I looked on the video for the Kick Starter site. Oh well, maybe it will make me appear more trust worthy. Timmy D. has agreed to let us offer his latest CD as a fund raiser on the site. We are also going to offer a backstage photo book, signed movie scripts, signed photographs of Timmy D., and dinner out with Allen and I, and 2 available cast members. We are considering adding additional incentives like winning a hot tub bath with Cooper (Big Jon), and a chance to wear Michael's (Timmy D.) sweaty lab coat. That should bring in the donations!

Well we are going full tilt to get the filming organized. Allen will be connecting with the film crew this week and everything seems to be going forward. I want to remind any of our actors that I will remain available by phone, text, or email for any questions or concerns.

Keep lighting those candles!

Bonnie

Growing Pains

 I am so happy that the crew really has the project's best interest at heart. We have an important message to share and need only those who can work together and share our vision to help us go forward. I want to thank all of our supporters and our awesome cast for their dedication. There is so much to putting a movie together and I think we are all feeling some pressure to be as prepared as possible for the first day of filming planned for Saturday August 5th.

Allen is sending out an email to all the cast to help them with any questions or concerns. I want to focus on helping the cast with background and how I see their characters. So I will be addressing a few characters daily in an effort to give our actors some perspective.

Oscar: Oscar is Cooper's Dad. He has a great sense of humor and is very proud of his son. Has opted to stay very involved in Cooper's care and helps Kelly when ever he can. He is also a devoted grandfather to Tiffany and Jessie. Oscar is devastated at the thought of losing his son, but tries to stay strong and not show how heart broken he is. Being overtly affectionate is not his strong suit. He demonstrates his love for Cooper through humor and sarcasm.

Cooper: Cooper has been ill on and off for three years. He thought he had his kidney cancer under control until his wife Kelly forced him to see a doctor for his ever increasing back pain. Tests showed his cancer had spread to his spine and his back pain was due to a tumor. Cooper is having a hard time loosing his independence and is able to keep his temper under control most of the time except when he is in severe pain. Cooper is struggling to keep himself together emotionally for his family. He loves his wife Kelly deeply, and tries very hard not to have her upset.

Michael: Michael was deeply affected by the death of his 14 year old sister Emma, when he was 12 years old. She died of leukemia and Michael has always blamed himself. Michael's bone marrow was not a match, and Emma died before a match could be found. Michael saw her suffer and never wanted anyone else to experience that kind of pain. He has a natural sense of humor and an ability to be very caring and compassionate, but he hides behind a kind of tough rock star image to balance the stress of his job. He turned to music to help him deal with his sister's death, but now only occasionally plays his guitar. He is good at his job and his patient's love him.

Hope this additional information helps both the actors and those following my blog to get to know the characters of our film. Keep those candles lit and the good thoughts coming. We need all the positive energy we can get!

Making a Difference

We are continuing to complete our casting. I believe we found our Tiffany and I will share how very special she is in later postings. Still amazed at Timmy D's talent and I really hope this movie will help people to get to know him better. Be sure to check out his band Pullman Standard.

I hope to spend this month working with the actors to help them better understand their characters and their motivations. I am hoping they can make the dialogue I wrote more of their own and have some fun with it where they can. The humor seems to balance the sadness. We  handle some tough material, but I think it is so important to get the information out and to get people talking. I deal with all of this on a daily basis. I just hope this movie will help make a difference in people's lives.

All persons deserve to be respected and treated with dignity. The dying should not be ostracized, they should be celebrated and included as any human being should. I want to show how important it is to make what time any of us have quality time, and I am thrilled my words will be given a voice by such talented actors and friends.

We are hoping to do some re-shooting this week for another trailer, and I want to put some actors together so they can run lines. Most of all we are hoping to work with Erik and get some production meetings together. Lots to do! (Aren't you impressed I am learning all of this movie lingo?)

I am going to set up the scenes and the lines for the nursing extras in the film and work with our team to set up their shooting schedules so they can plan who will be available. I will also be offering the chance to be a walk-on when I know for sure what are plan is.

Keep checking out the web site for more current information!

Low Battery

Sitting at a bar called the Rabbit Hole near San Diego. Allen and I are here for Timmy D's New CD release party for his group Pullman Standard. I have taken on a kind of Mom role with him. He is such a great guy and so talented. I really hope audiences pick up on this.
We found a perfect Adam, Jeff, and Nicole. I just hope who ever is watching out for me doesn't mind the overtime. They are doing a great job!!
So far the only roles left to fill are Tiffany, April's mom, and Danny. Keep lighting those candles for us!!
Sorry for the short post, I only have10% battery. I will do better tomorrow!!


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A New Kind of Nurse is in Town!

Having a very late day. Got to work with the loveliest family. We spent an hour going over his treatment plan. The daughter was so devoted and he was adorable. I enjoy helping especially when everyone was so overwhelmed. We established a wonderful rapport, and I even got them laughing. When something funny happens during my day, I catch myself thinking that I need to remember that for Michael's character!!

It is possible we found someone to play Cooper's Dad and his son Jessie to day. Keep your fingers crossed. Now I am waiting to hear from persons that wanted to try out for Nicole, Danny, April's Mom, Jeff, and Paul. Let's get those videos in so we can lock this casting up! I am getting nurses from City of Hope to sign up for one or more Saturdays in August to be walk ons, say single line, or just st help out. Their plan is to all go out afterwards. Sounds like fun!

I am using this project to keep some of my patients busy helping me and to just get them out of the house. I'm glad to offer them the opportunity. I hope they all feel up to it.

Allen is close to getting the first film short done. It will be so great to see it posted. Timmy D makes a perfect Michael, and I think the film short will make people want to learn more about what we are up to. I came up with an idea to further promote the unique care provided by a Palliative Care team. I think we should promote that there is a new kind of nurse in town!! Wait until you see what Allen does with that idea!