Let's take the story back and discover who is Caroline...Ā
Caroline and I met back in 2010 as sophomores at the University of Georgia, both within the same biology class and lab group to only discover we would both end up attending the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She would continue to pursue a career in wildlife sciences and end up as a wildlife biologist and I although starting in wildlife like Carolina would end up in forestry to develop a career as a forester.
(I'm not in the photos to the left primarily because I tend to stay behind the lens in most photos, especially during the good ol' college days...)
We stayed in periodic contact after graduation. I was scheduled to photograph her wedding in September 2018, but a month before her planned I-DO's, at the age of 28, she would be rushed to the ER and diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer.
What did Carolina want to share?
In early 2018, Caroline shared with me that she started experiencing symptoms that got progressively worse: changes in bowel movements, unexpected bleeding, fatigue, pain with sex, and stabbing abdominal pains. She went to the doctor several times and was told to: exercise more, change diet, hydrate more etc. because it was likely something simple like IBS.Ā At that time, Caroline shared she was exercising 6 days a week and eating a plant-forward, organic, free-range diet.
SheĀ told me once "If I had known the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, or even known that ovarian cancer was a THING,Ā maybeĀ it wouldnāt have gotten to the point where I had to be rushed to the ER to prevent my colon from bursting because a tumor on my ovary pinched it off.Ā MaybeĀ I could have been diagnosed earlier and had aĀ MUCHĀ better chance of survival. Instead of thinking of āwhat ifā though, Iāll turn to advocacy. Hopefully that way someone else is diagnosed early and canĀ avoidĀ my problems."
She battled for 2.5 years before passing in July 2021.
And now, Caroline's Legacy.
Back in 2020, when Land and Ladies first started and the first Woman Landowner Symposium was underdevelopment I reached out to Caroline to ask her to help me set up a silent auction. The key was I wanted HER to pick something meaningful to donate all the proceeds to. The 2021 Woman Landowner Symposium hosted the first Caroline Legacy Silent Auction, raising $850 in funding for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC). Caroline got to see the impact of the first Symposium's silent auction before passing two months later...
So what is Caroline's Legacy?
Carolineās Legacy is the silent auction associated with the biannual Woman Landowner Symposium, with 100% proceeds being donated to the NOCC....Ā
But if we dig deeper, it's so much more.... Caroline's Legacy is set up to keep the advocacy efforts alive in her memory. As she always told me, if her story helps one person get diagnosed early, check out their symptoms before they escalateā¦ then her journey has been worth it.
Carolineās Legacy is set up to honor and support Caroline Olsen in her advocacy efforts to spread awareness for ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer effects 1 in 78 women and is the 5th leading cancer related death.Ā
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100% of profits from Carolines Legacy merchandise and auctions are always donated to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC,Ā www.ovarian.org).Ā
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Carline's Legacy Auction is biannually setup at the Woman Landowner Symposium and 100% of proceeds are donated to the NOCC in Caroline's name.