Nitalia Conti :: A Place For Love

St. Jude patient Carissa Barrett (left) talks with Nitalia Conti as she receives one of the blankets Nitalia donated to the hospital Friday.

The is the article that ran in today’s Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Great piece…Thank you Commercial Appeal!

Nitalia Conti distributes handmade blankets, hats at hospital

There are lots of things Nitalia Conti will do during the coming week while she’s in Memphis — eat Southern food, cheer at today’s St. Jude Memphis Marathon and attend tonight’s holiday parade Downtown.
But on Friday, Nitalia, 13, was at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There, the Arizona teen and her family distributed more than 100 blankets and hats, handmade by her grandmother and a legion of other family members, friends and even total strangers.

“When I was going through radiation or (what she calls) heavenly arrays, I was always cold and people from the community dropped off blankets. They would keep me warm and they were all bright colors, and they would make me happy,” Nitalia said. “I still have them.”
She wanted other children to feel that warmth and happiness, too.

So her paternal grandmother started crocheting. Word spread quickly, with crafters in Arizona, Nevada and California making blankets for the children at St. Jude.

“It is always rewarding to see our patients come back, and even more so when they are able to help other patients,” said Mary Lynn Carver, senior vice president of public relations at St. Jude.

Blankets are the least they could do, said Suzann Conti, Nitalia’s mother.

“When you walk in the door, they say welcome home, which is just so beautiful,” Suzann said. “They are always out to make sure you feel good and it’s all about making your child better.”

The Contis, including sisters Aviona and Isabella, first came to Memphis at this time last year. Nitalia had been diagnosed with a brain tumor; St. Jude was the one place that could treat her.

“Quite a lot was different a year ago. Our world was in shambles,” said her father, Anthony.

That was also when Memphians and St. Jude rallied around them.

St. Jude couldn’t provide housing for the entire family, which then included Suzann’s mother.

So a friend in Arizona contacted a local real estate company, which was able to find the family a Downtown condo for a minimal fee.

Locals lent them furniture, while others gave the family a Christmas tree, decorations and household goods and provided meals.

“They just brought us under their wing and took care of us like family,” Suzann said.

Still, the stay in Memphis was hard.

“It’s scary because I never would have thought my sister would have a brain tumor, and I really don’t know what it is,” said Aviona, 11.

While Nitalia was in treatment, she and Isabella would say a prayer, play games and draw pictures. One in particular was of a brain and a tumor in a boxing ring, she said.

“And the brain killed the tumor,” Aviona said.

After five months, the family returned to Phoenix, where Nitalia was featured on local television. Her Web site (nitaliaconti.com) has gotten more than 80,000 visits, with people offering prayers from around the world.

This year, the Conti family will be in Memphis for about a week while they await Nitalia’s test results.

Rick Fogelman of Fogelman Properties will run the St. Jude Marathon today in Nitalia’s name, and the Contis will stay with locals Karl and Gail Schledwitz.
“We’re still terrified. I don’t know if the terror ever goes away,” Anthony said. “But it’s different because we really do have a family here now.”

Direct link to the story on the Commercial Appeal click here