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The warmth of winter toboggans: priceless

Misty Guinn comforts cancer patients

By DAVID MELSON - dmelson@t-g.com
Posted 11/26/22

A thankful and caring heart is leading a Shelbyville woman to make toboggans for cancer patients.  

Misty Guinn is offering others a chance to contribute to the costs of shipping the finished …

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The warmth of winter toboggans: priceless

Misty Guinn comforts cancer patients

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A thankful and caring heart is leading a Shelbyville woman to make toboggans for cancer patients.  

Misty Guinn is offering others a chance to contribute to the costs of shipping the finished toboggans. Guinn refers to it as “adopting a toboggan.”  

“The adopt-a-toboggan is where people donate $7 to ship one package to a patient. When the cancer patients have siblings, I also send them one as well.”  

Guinn says she’s made more than 60 toboggans since September.  

“My first shipment was of 22 packages, my second shipment was over 38. I keep updates on each person/family. I have a 3-inch binder with names, addresses, updates, diagnoses that I keep up with. These families have enough to deal with, without having to worry about keeping their precious babies’ and families’ heads warm.”  

She says she’s been blessed by this ministry and its results.  

“I am disabled and am on set income, but God gave me this ministry and it has blessed me so much. I do get pictures of the patients with their toboggans. These people have blessed me so much.”  

The ministry grew out of an interest in sewing toboggans.  

“I started making handmade toboggans about 2 ½ years ago. I did it as a hobby,” Guinn said. “My dad had cancer so cancer patients have always been a special place in my heart.”  

Guinn says family tragedies and triumphs — hers and others’ — caused her to think deeply about her life.

“I lost a 34-day-old daughter in June 2001 and lost my dad in June 2009. My husband, Rodney Guinn, gave his life to God in December 2021,” Guinn said. “Turning our lives around, I began looking at things differently. I asked God, ‘Show me what you want me to do for you, Oh God.’” 

The answer to that prayer began showing up on social media, Guinn said.  

“I started seeing cancer patients on my Facebook page. I began keeping names and diagnosis and updates. There came more and more cancer patients on my page. Before I started making the toboggans and I was just keeping updates and praying for the families, 2 of these precious children passed.”  

The toboggans became much more than a hobby at that point.  

“I began making these toboggans for free,” Guinn said. “I do not charge anything to these families whom receive the toboggans. I make them and ship them all for free. When the toboggans are made, they are anointed and prayed over before I package them.”  

That’s where helping hands enter the picture.  

“My church family from Mt. Herman Church of the Nazarene helped me get the first shipment sent out. I just started having people ask how they could help,” Guinn said. “I have a group on Facebook called Misty’s Ministries. I have had people ship me yarn for free, people have donated money to help with shipping. I do not keep a penny. If there is money left from donations, it goes towards more materials.”  

Guinn says she makes sure the toboggans are wanted before sending.  

“I message these families before I make them. I never want to burden anyone. I have cried over these babies as if they were my own family. When I get another person, I pray for their family as if it were my own.”  

She’s seen successful recoveries as well.  

“Since I started this, there have been 4-6 kids receive 100% healing and are cancer free,” Guinn said. “I plan to do this as long as God allows me to do so.”  

Anyone wanting to “adopt” a toboggan can email Guinn at misty9949@yahoo.com or see her on Facebook at Misty Ann Guinn and be added to the group.