“I made it.” These were Lulu Gribbin’s first words to her mom when she woke up in the hospital after a shark attack earlier this summer in Rosemary Beach. They show the heart, resilience, and fighting spirit of a courageous 15-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama.
The entire Gulf Coast and country was rocked when the news and details of this shark attack came to light. We were even more awestruck when we saw the perseverance and willpower of Lulu and her family.
Immediately following the attack, Lulu spent 5 days at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. It was at this hospital where the doctors and nurses performed Lulu’s life-saving surgery.
Currently, at Global Grill in Downtown Pensacola there is a very special art display called “HeART to HeART.” The Sacred Heart Foundation, a part of Ascension Sacred Heart, curated the art show to highlight the talents and stories of children who have received care at the Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola.
The display consists of 21 beautiful canvases recently painted by former and current patients at Studer Family Children’s Hospital. Except there is one painting that was not painted by a former patient. It was painted by Lulu Gribbin’s Godmother, Joan Curtis, as a thank you to the doctors and caregivers who saved Lulu’s life that day.
Apart from her role as a Godmother and grandmother, Joan is a retired nurse and established artist. Her and her husband have been friends with Lulu’s family for over 50 years. When Joan heard about the HeART to HeART art show she knew she wanted to donate a special painting to the cause.
Joan’s unique and skillful use of the palette knife creates impressionistic paintings that are both multidimensional and stylish. The abstract strokes can be interpreted in a number of ways yet each painting has a clear story.
”I paint all the time and I decided to paint Lulu, her twin sister and the friends and family who were on the beach that day,” said Joan. “I thought the painting was bright and appropriate for the children’s hospital.”
The painting contains a very special shoutout to Ascension Sacred Heart on the bucket that sits in the sand. As a retired nurse, Joan has met a lot of doctors in her life and her admiration for the ones at Sacred Heart goes above and beyond.
“I know a lot of good doctors and I’d like to say how good they were, and I’m pretty particular,” said Joan. “Everybody was incredible. I just thought they did all the things that needed to be done, number one to save her life and then the best they could with her leg and hand.”
The exhibition aims to connect the community with the hospital’s courageous kids and their dedicated caregivers.
“If I could say one thing to the caregivers at Ascension I would say, thank you for your training, thank for your skills, and I’m so grateful they were there that day. Right place, right time,” said Joan.
Make sure you head to Global Grill this week through August 15th to check out Joan’s painting and 20 other featured pieces of art. All the funds raised will support the Cat Country Radiothon on August 16th that is raising money for the Angel Eye Program providing a secure camera system in the 72 NICU rooms.
As we head into the week of the Radiothon, we want to give a very special thank you to all the artists who participated in the art exhibition. And our very well wishes to all the tiny fighters at Studer Family Children’s Hospital. Lastly, a special shoutout to Lulu and her family as they continue on the road to recovery.
“We must live just one day at a time,” said Joan. “I wish her future to be bright, and I know it will be.”
Follow Lulu’s recovery on her LuluG Strong page on Instagram. View more of Joan Curtis’ artwork on her website here.
