JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- This weekend is especially difficult for Lori Guadagno.
It's the 10-year anniversary of losing her brother Richard, who was aboard flight 93 in Pennsylvania. She is with her family in Shanksville, remembering her brother and the others who lost their lives on September 11th.
"It's kind of hard to piece those days together," she said.
Guadagno found a way to deal with her loss, and help others in the process, through her non-profit Art with a Heart in Healthcare.
"I like to share his story with the patients, and let them know that he was a hero and that their battle is equally heroic."
Her team has helped put smiles on the faces of 27,000 children in need of care at Jacksonville area hospitals and clinics over the past 10 years, by helping them draw or creating art for them.
Guadagno did not start Art with a Heart because of her brother. "Just before I was moving down and starting the program, 9-11 occurred," she remarked. But she said the program has become so successful because of Richard.
"I can relate so much to their pain and their suffering and their fears."
Art with a Heart in Healthcare is a non-profit that survives through grants and donations.
First Coast News
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