Company founder, Renee Swigert, shares the story of how her grandmother’s devotion, love, and strength gave her the inspiration to create Ribbons of Red.

was a kind-hearted woman, and a beautiful writer who found the silver lining in absolutely everything. She gave money when she didn’t have money to give; she welcomed strangers into her home that didn’t have homes of their own; and played sports with her grandchildren in the backyard at 70 years of age. Her life was an inspiration to so many people, including myself.

In June 2006, my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer, but none of us were worried. After all, she had a knack for giving us hospital scares, and almost always around the holidays — so much so, that it became a running joke in our family.

Upon surgery, it was discovered that my grandma had been living on only one kidney for some time. These revelations worried me, but my grandma was not worried. She just concentrated on the positives and spoke of all the people she would help when she was able to leave the hospital.

. . . . . . .

In the fall, my grandma was admitted to an assisted living nursing home. In a surgical attempt to save her inactive kidney, the healthy one was damaged. Her body began to wilt away little by little, but it didn’t dampen her spirit. She had big plans when she got well, and she told us all about them.

As winter fell upon us, my grandma became the weakest one in the nursing home. The woman who helped everyone was now being helped by a 24 hour nursing staff. But weak or not, she spoke to us confidently from her hospital bed. She talked about the day she would return home, attend family gatherings, eat her son-in-laws famous BBQ, and show me how to play tennis. The truth was, she was dying.

In the summer of 2007, I was told to say my goodbyes. My grandma now knew that it was the end. She didn’t need to be held. She didn’t cry or need to be told it would be okay. Instead, she held me while I cried and told ME it would be okay. She spoke of her love for me in a way I’d never heard before.

Here was a woman who desperately wanted to leave the hospital to help others. And little did she know, she didn’t have to leave her hospital bed at all to help. She was helping me, in her weakest state, come to terms with saying goodbye. That amazed me. In society, the healthy comfort the sick, but not for Dorothy—she wanted to help me. All she had left were her words and her heart, and she used them up until the very end. That talk, was our last one together.

A few months after her funeral, I came across a small book she had written. As I paged through it, I came across a song she used to sing around her house when I was little. The song spoke of inspiration and devoting yourself to helping others. The title of the song was called: ‘Ribbons of Red’.