Penn’s Bubblegum
For those of you that have been following the blog since Penn was first diagnosed, you probably remember the Marcus vs. Village ice cream story. I would often take Penn on ice cream dates to Marcus, Village and a small corner grocery store that sold bubblegum ice cream.
Every time I would ask Penn, what ice cream do you prefer, Marcus or Village she was consistent. She would say Made By Marcus. So when she woke up from her craniotomy, I had no idea if she would be able to talk, know I was her mom, or if she would remember her love for ice cream. But she did. When I asked her, “Penn, what do you prefer, Marcus or Village,” she said, “Marcus,” followed by “Mom can I give you a hug.” The PICU staff were quite emotional, and so was I.
After her first craniotomy, followed by her second surgery and throughout her radiation treatments last summer, we would grab ice cream after a walk in the neighbourhood, or a bike ride. Penn would often ask, does Marcus have blue ice cream, and I would say no. Her go to flavour is the vegan chocolate fudge brownie.
Throughout all our ups and downs, our struggles, our sadness, we knew it was so important to give back. And that’s how we started creating a blue, bubblegum flavoured ice cream at Made by Marcus. In just a couple weeks, an idea of Penn’s bubblegum ice cream became a reality, right before we got back from our Make a Wish trip to Disneyworld. I huge thank you to Lourdes, Yousef, Maggie, Ploy and the entire Made by Marcus team for doing this. We are extremely lucky to be surrounded by amazing neighbours. It means the world to us.
Penn’s bubblegum ice cream is available in pints and servings at the Bridgeland location until June 12. All proceeds will go to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada for education and research initiatives. We are doing our part with the help of our community to create awareness on brain tumours and hopefully eradicating brain cancers one day. A huge thank you to all our family and friends that have purchased ice cream so far.
Penn, at the tender age of five is a community builder and a change maker. All because she loves food and always thinks of others. I am blessed to be her mom, despite this sad and difficult journey together.
