Maire's Journey

A night in Ann Arbor with Maire Kent

Maire Kent is an extraordinary young woman. Diagnosed with sarcoma cancer last November we have had the incredible honor of following her on this life-altering journey. On this particular trip, her doctor at the University of Michigan, Monika Leja, was able to set up a special night viewing the stars at the Detroit Observatory. (http://bentley.umich.edu/observatory/)

Before we made our way to the observatory we stopped at one of Maire’s favorite stores in Ann Arbor, The Himalayan Bazaar. This Fair Trade retail store features items such as jewelry, statues, clothing and signing bowls from Nepal, Tibet and India. Maire has been here before and the owners were happy to see her come by again. Having recently received a singing bowl, Maire was curious to find out how to make it “sing.” With a little help from Pem, one of the store’s owners, his wife Moni and their daughter, Maire learned the secret of how to get the bowl signing. It was a nice time. Pem and his family have been wonderful each visit we have made there. To learn more about the store, visit www.thehimalayanbazaar.com.

From there we made our way to the observatory, Originally built on what was the outskirts of Ann Arbor in the mid-1800’s, the observatory is now located across the street from the cardiovascular center and is used for educational purposes now as opposed to research.

Along with Dr. Monika, Maire's mother, Maire’s friend Crystal and research professor Patrick Seitzer, Maire had an opportunity to look through the Meridian Circle Telescope, which has been here since 1854. Although the weather was not optimal for viewing on this particular evening, she was able to see a few stars in the sky. Professor Seitzer was also very engaging and provided insight into the history of the observatory and the telescopes located here.

Maire also had a chance to tour the museum and view original photographs of the observatory and other relics of days past at not just the observatory but the University of Michigan as well. This was a fun evening for Maire. It was really very nice to see her smile and laugh. She has been an inspiration to us and we are certain that she will make a major impact in this series.