I met Deserie and her Army of Angels teammates at the 2013 Seattle 3-Day in September and immediately noticed the beautiful tattoo sleeve on her arm – just look at that color and detail! And the way the stars are incorporated into the background… gorgeous.
Looking closer, I noticed one of the butterflies had a purple ribbon incorporated into its body. Deserie explained that the tattoo (and her 3-Day walk) was in honor of her beloved Aunt Virgie, who lost her fight with pancreatic cancer five years ago.
I knew this form of cancer is very aggressive, but I didn’t realize how difficult it is to treat until our conversation prompted me to look it up: The five year survival rate is astonishingly low, and metastatic forms tend to move swiftly. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan) website is a good source of information if you’re interested in learning more.
More tattoo inspiration: The fighting angel logo on the Army of Angels team shirts was modeled after teammate Mindy’s tattoo tribute to her mother. I love it.
Deserie’s tattoo was done by JT at Wicked Needle Tattoo & Piercing in Spanaway, Washington. Thank you, Deserie, for sharing the story behind your tattoo and for prompting me to learn more about pancreatic cancer!
