Bittersweet tribute
Porterville woman donates handmade pillows for a very special cause
Kati Giannetto’s story is one of both beauty and tragedy.
On October 14 2012, Giannetto’s family was shaken to the core when she committed suicide by hanging herself at the age of 14. She was pronounced brain dead on October 15, 2012.
Giannetto’s sister Ashley Bird has been going on in life without Kati, but says her sister is still with her every day. Bird is reminded of her every time she looks at her couch and sees the pillow with her sister’s handprint.
“I have it on my couch and it is the one way I keep my sister in my daily life. When you have a loved one pass away, it’s easy to just carry on with life and put them on the back burner,” stated Bird. “Kati passed away when she was a freshmen, 14 years old. It’s easy for me to want to believe she’s at school or
she’s home at Mom and Dad’s. But this is my little memento of keeping my sister relevant in my life because it is easy to forget.”
The pillow Bird is referring to was given to her while her family waited for her little sister to be pronounced brain dead after being transferred to Fresno Community Regional Center from Sierra View Medical Center.
“The hospital had offered us these pillows that people had donated, these hand-sewn pillows, and what they’re for is to paint your loved one’s hands and feet and do little stamps on them,” said Bird. “They mean so much to me and my family. Every year I’ve told myself, ‘Okay, I’m going to get these made and I’m going to donate back to the hospital because I know how much it means to me and I want to be able to give back’.”
This was the year Bird was finally able to give back to the hospital in honor of her sister.
Bird reached out to Totally Tina’s Fabric in Springville and pitched her idea of making pillows, just like hers, to donate to Fresno Community Regional Center.
The owner of Totally Tina’s Fabrics loved the idea so much she donated her time and all of the fabric needed to create the pillows.
“Tina took over doing all the cutting and sewing,” Bird stated about the support the fabric store owner gave her. “She’s taken on the lion’s share. She’s done so much.”
With the help of Totally Tina’s Fabrics, Bird was able to create more than 50 pillows to donate back to Fresno Community Regional Center.
Bird explained that the pillows weren’t just for those who had lost a loved one to suicide.
“They’re for infants that didn’t make it. Let’s say you have a firefighter who was burned and is going to pass away, it’s for anybody whose loved ones have passed away. They offer it so you can have that memento,” stated Bird.
This past Saturday, Bird finally made her dream of giving back come true when she met with Diane Chrisman, development officer for Fresno Community Regional Center, and Christa Short, the director for Terry’s House and patient experience. The three met up at Stafford’s Chocolates, where Bird told Kati’s story before donating all of the handmade pillows.
“Kati was such a cute girl but had just a little bit of weight, and you know how mean girls can be in high school,” said Bird. “I guess what was happening is she was getting bullied at school to the point where she wasn’t going to school. She was ditching a lot. At first we noticed the ditching, but we didn’t know what was going on at school with all the bullying.”
Chrisman and Short were amazed at the strength and determination Bird demonstrated in honoring her sister. Bird continued to share details of Kati’s story.
“Because they were able to sustain her pulse, it made it so that we were able to donate her organs,” Bird shared. “So we kept her on life support for a few days longer after she was pronounced brain dead because it was important to us that this didn’t happen for nothing, and that she is able to live on in others.”
Before parting ways with the Fresno Community Regional Center staff, Bird made a powerful comment on why the pillows are so important.
“This is a way that has allowed the health care system to treat the patient’s family as well,” Bird stated. “It’s not just a body thing, it’s a mind, spirit, and emotional collective.”