Runs in the memory of her little sister Katrín Una Sigurðardóttir with her little sister, Elvíra María, in her arms. Photo/Sent to mbl.is Katrín Una Sigurðardóttir, a nine-year-old girl from Siglufjörður, plans to take part in the Reykjavík marathon today.
She runs in the recreational race in memory of her sister, Elvíra María, who died last year after a battle with acute leukemia. In an interview with mbl.is, Katrín's mother, Sigrún Sigmundsdóttir, says that Katrín is an open, playful, and creative person and is very excited about the upcoming race.
She is also very enthusiastic about the fact that she has collected a lot of money, but Katrín herself decided to run for the Mía Magic charity. "She was completely determined as soon as she saw an advertisement for the Reykjavík Marathon to run for Mía Magic," Sigmundsdóttir says. A charity that reaches out to the children The charity focuses on making chronically ill children and their parents happy as well as publishing educational books.
Sigmundsdóttir says that a lot of support came from the association after her daughter Elvíra was diagnosed with acute leukemia, but one of the things Mía Magic does so well is to connect with the children. Both Elvíra and Katrín got the so-called Míubox from the company, but each Míubox is tailored to each person who receives it and contains various items, and Elvíra got a Míu teddy bear that she hardly let go of. According to Sigmundsdóttir, Elvíra María barely let go of her Mía teddy bear that she got from Mía Magic.
Photo/Sent to mbl.is "Katrín also got a box when Elvíra got hers, and this is what stands out most. Mía Magic's approach reaches the children so well, that it stays with them for a long time.
This love and the Teddy Bear and the books. This is her absolute highlight. She wasn't thinking of running for any other charity.
" Sigmundsdóttir says that the club will always have a special place in the hearts of everyone in the family, as the club stood firmly behind the family during very challenging times. She said that she had gotten to know the founder of Mía Magic, Þórunn Eva G. Pálsdóttir, very well in this time and that she had been an incredible support for the family.
She also mentions that it makes Katrín's run more personal as a result. Introduced the company to his class The charity is very important to Katrín. Her mother mentions that she even gave a presentation about Mia Magic for her class at her school in Siglufjörður.
"She had a slide presentation and talked about the company. It was an opportunity for her to tell her class something that supported us through it all. It gave her a lot to be able to tell about this.
It was very beautiful." Sigmundsdóttir says that Katrín then allowed her class to look at the educational books, the teddy bear, the key chain, the key chain and everything that she had received from the association. Had to temporarily move from Siglufjörður However, Sigmundsdóttir emphasizes the importance of other associations and organizations during the challenging times the family went through.
Although Katrín is running for Mía Magic, Sigrún also wants to convey the incredible help that the family received from organizations such as Children's Hospital Hringurinn and SKB (The Childre Cancer Foundation). For example, the family got an apartment in Reykjavík through SKB after they had to move from Siglufjörður temporarily due to Elvíra's illness. Katrín Una gave a presentation about Mia Magic for her class at Siglufjörður.
Photo/Sent to mbl.is "We live in Siglufjörður and Elvíra was be diagnosed on December 3, 2021, and we had to go all the way south and we did not go home until June 2022 for a week. Then came another such stay and we were getting home a little bit in between, but more or less we were in the south," she says and also mentions that at that time Katrín stayed with family and friends in Siglufjörður.
It was not possible to take her out of school while her sister needed care in Reykjavík, so she was away from them a lot during that time. Amazing support in small towns Then Sigmundsdóttir, who also works at the elementary school in Siglufjörður, says that there has been very good communication and cooperation between the family and the school. For example, they received study materials when Katrín had the opportunity to visit.
"I myself work at the elementary school in Siglufjörður, so it was just my people taking care of my girl, and it helped a lot. This is what you feel when you are from the small towns, this kind of support. It's amazing.
" Challenging times Elvíra María's drug treatment took over six months and unfortunately did not produce the results that the family hoped for. The family was told that Elvíra needed a bone marrow transplant. We had difficult times in Sweden, where Elvíra underwent a bone marrow transplant and the family stayed there for three and a half months.
Katrín managed to visit there, which her mother says was priceless. The family returned home from Sweden in October, but it was at the beginning of January 2023 that the family received confirmation that Elvíra's illness had returned. Honor the memory of Elvíra María Elvíra María died on June 16 last year after her heroic battle with acute leukemia, only two and a half years old, and her mother says that a memorial fund has been established in her name.
"This is done to honor her memory and support charities and organizations that were there for us, such as the Children's Hospital and the Children's Cancer Foundation and the clown watch at the Children's Hospital, which not many people know about. Clowns came once a week to visit the kids. All kinds of things that touch us that we want to support," she says and also mentions that the memorial fund can be found on Facebook.
They sell knitted headbands with a rainbow-colored bow, which Sigmundsdóttir says is very much in the spirit of Elvíra María. "She was always very colorful and cheerful and fun and just smiling and laughing through everything." A memorial fund for Elvíra María can be found on Facebook.
There you can buy knitted headbands that Sigmundsdóttir says are in the spirit of Elvíra María. Photo/Sent to mbl.is Helps to give back Sigmundsdóttir says that the headbands were to raise money and the intention is to do more.
It helps to give back to those who stood closely behind the family, but she describes the Children's Hospital as a second home for the family when Elvíra María struggled with her illness. "It just became one's family, the people there," says Sigrún who also notes that she wants to express her endless thanks to everyone at the Children's Hospital. "Wonderful staff and medical team and everything to do with it.
It is indescribable." You can support Katrína Una here . You can learn more about Elvíra María's memorial fund on Facebook.
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