DICKSON CITY, Pa. — It all started with a single letter.
Kathy Garing brought a sketch to her father, Mietek, in the hospital, asking for his carpentry expertise: Did he think she could carve this?
After battling cancer and not being able to work for almost three years, it was a question he needed to hear.
"The spark in his eye is the dad I remembered from childhood. It gave him a purpose - a purpose no one thought would exist again," said Garing. "He was given a very short 'sentence,' so to say. There was very little hope for him."
So they kept going - designing, carving, eventually launching a full-blown business: Party Pop Co. The father-daughter duo creates custom arrangements to help people celebrate all of life's milestones, from getting married to turning 6 years old.
"It's unique. It's different. Every staging that I do is personalized to my client. No two stagings are alike," said Garing.
And each one takes hours, all while Mietek continues to fight cancer, sometimes even while he's actively undergoing chemo.
"I honestly have no idea how he does it. It brings so much life to me, personally, because I know the struggle that comes with treatment," said Garing.
As the business grows, Garing hopes it can inspire others going through the same thing as her father.
She's offering free arrangements to cancer patients and survivors, like this one, made for a 3 year old celebrating two years in remission.
"Seeing the joy that this brought to my dad, it only made sense to bring that joy to people in similar situations."
Party Pop Co. is moving into a brick-and-mortar shop. The goal is to hold a grand opening at the storefront on Main Street in Dickson City sometime this spring.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube page.