Bedroom makeover provides comfort in many ways for CL woman

(Above) Sharon Lindsay is surprised and excited as My Happy Haven founder Lisa Tan welcomes her into her newly refurbished bedroom.  With Sharon is her grandson, Brextin.  A photo of the two was also a new addition to the room.

It was much more than a bedroom makeover.  Sharon Lindsay says My Happy Haven gave her comfort in a multitude of ways.

My Happy Haven, which offers bedroom transformations to women with cancer, welcomed Sharon home Friday from recent hospitalization.  With dozens of friends there to cheer her, she was led into what she called “a dream room.”

“There’s too much to look at— I’m at a loss for words and that doesn’t happen much.  I’ve been a hair stylist for 41 years and I’ve done a lot of talking and listening,” she said.  “You’ve given me re-cycled comfort.”

Lisa Tan and Deidra Rattay, founder and co-founder of My Happy Place, which began doing bedroom makeovers for sick children in the area four years ago, and more recently My Happy Haven for women with cancer, said their work is a labor of love.  That sentiment was shared by Sharon and her daughter, Holly.

“This room isn’t about paint on the walls or the things inside.  It has been the experience of doing this for her and the support she has received that has been so amazing,” said Holly.

In Sharon’s case it was decided that she might benefit from knowing that the project would be taking place while she was in Iowa City receiving treatment for stage four lung cancer.  As soon as word got out, messages of support for Sharon began to come in.  Holly noted that over 200 Facebook comments did much to help her mother get through days of difficult chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Tan and Rattay said that they visited with Sharon in the weeks leading up to the project and were motivated by her upbeat spirit and constant smile.

“She kept talking about missing spending time in Florida and that’s how we came up with the idea to use a comforting beach theme in the space,” said Tan.  “In one of our phone conversations Sharon was in tears.  She said we can’t even imagine what this does for a woman with cancer, to not have to worry about any of the details and that she can just relax in her new room.  She said her room is so dark and dreary and she can’t conceive that total strangers would come in and would make it pretty and light and she could just lay in bed and en-

[wlm_nonmember]To read more of this article, please login or sign up for our E-Edition[/wlm_nonmember]

[wlm_ismember]

joy her surroundings.”

Holly, along with her husband Justin and three-year-old son, Brextin, readied the room.  Sixteen hours were spent removing old wallpaper to make way for soft blue walls and white trim.  New furnishings, including a new bed, headboard, night stand and dressers were moved in.  The space was accented with soft lights and personal touches, including a large framed photo of Sharon and Brextin, courtesy of Love & Luck Photography.

“Her bedroom was not somewhere she wanted to be.  She even had us get a day bed to put in the living room after her diagnosis because she didn’t want to be in there,” explained Holly.  “Now she will hopefully find help and healing in this room.”

“It’s much more than a bedroom transformation to me,” said Sharon.  “It’s love.”

[/wlm_ismember]