Survivors Stories

The quilt was the dream of a team member, Diane Southorn, who was an accomplished quilter as well as an enthusiastic paddler. In 2005 Diane saw that the new Lindsey/Port Perry team had created a team quilt. She took it as a personal challenge to produce a Survivors Abreast quilt. Diane rounded up the quilters on our team, Marg Higgins, Myra Hirschberg, Bonnie McTiernan and Lynne Porter, to organize workshops and encourage each member to design a square for a team quilt.

Sadly, Diane did not get to see the completed quilt. She died in May 2006 after breast cancer had spread to her lungs and liver. However, she did get to help many team members create their own individual squares. Each one tells a story about that woman's journey with breast cancer and/or dragon boating.

Diane hoped that the quilt would hang at the Peterborough Dragon Boat Festival. The final stitches were put on the quilt the day before our 2006 Festival and it was proudly displayed on June 17, 2007 along with the quilt stories.
The Survivors Abreast quilt has done just what Diane planned. It has inspired many at a variety of special occasions over the last two years. Now we have found a permanent home for it as it will soon be permanently hung in the new Breast Assessment Centre at the PRHC. Diane would be so proud!