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Cupid's helps heal hearts burdened by sorrow By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A dark cloud has lingered over the Ide Cinanni family for the last year -- but Cupid's Gourmet Cupcakes aims to sweep the way to warm memories this holiday season for the family and others facing grief. Cupid's launched its second annual Holiday Gingerbread Village Silent Auction Dec. 1 in memory of five-year-old Gabrielle Ide Cinanni -- who died suddenly from complications of a heart condition in November 2010. Money raised in the silent auction will be donated to Cardiac Kids and the Pediatric Stroke Fund at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. "Any opportunity for me to talk about Gabrielle or share her memory is a good day for me. Even when it's hard, it's great for me to be able to remember her," said Gabrielle's mother, Nikki. Gabrielle spent a great deal of her young life at SickKids fighting heart disease, among other health issues. "They didn't fully understand what was going on with her and her death was really unexpected. We were expecting to go home in a day or two, and a doctor walked out of her room and literally, within half an hour, she was dying in my arms," said Nikki. "I was on the phone with my parents telling them the good news we would be home in a couple of days and while I was on the phone, she... it was just horrible." To say life has been difficult for the family since Gabrielle's passing would be an understatement. Just seven weeks after her death, Nikki's father passed away suddenly from through radiation and chemotherapy. Nikki said her mother has another six months of f chemotherapy, which will be starting in a couple of weeks. "We're all really optimistic -- her surgeon has been amazing, and her doctors have been amazing. Everybody has every reason to believe she's going to come through with flying colours," said Nikki. "Right now she's still recovering from surgery, so she is not feeling so good on a dayto-day basis, but (we're) also very optimistic. We have to be." The help they've received from Cupid's and the community has enabled the family to pull through the difficult times of grief. "I don't know how we always find the strength, but I think our community has really helped us. We just have to keep our heads high and believe that things will be okay," said Nikki. Until Dec. 23, people can call or visit the store or to bid on any of the six different gingerbread houses that tickles their fancy. One of them will be raffled off, Nikki said. Tickets cost $10 or three can be bought for $25. "If people can't afford to bid through the auction because prices are getting high, then they can buy raffle tickets and one of f the gingerbread houses will be raffled off," said Nikki. Cupid's bakers spend hours creating a gingerbread house display including pieces such as Santa's workshop, a Christmas tree farm, a cathedral and a Victorian home. "There is going to be four shelves in the window, and on the top shelf there is actually going to be an angel that is floating See Fundraiser page 14 7 · Thursday, December 15, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com JAMES HOGGETT / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER HELPING SICKKIDS: Cupid's Gourmet Cupcakes recently held the unveiling of its second annual Holiday Gingerbread Village silent auction. The auction is in support of Gabrielle's Ride, a charity benefitting Cardiac Kids and the Pediatric Stroke Fund at SickKids. Once the houses are unveiled, the crowd of children rush the window to catch a glimpse. heart disease. "We didn't know it was that serious and we were expecting him to have some more time and he died pretty quickly (and) unfortunately on Dec. 28," said Nikki. If that wasn't enough, her mother was diagnosed with cancer in August. She recently had "aggressive" surgery, and went YEAR-END CLEARANCE on everything Going on now through December 21st 20-70% OFF SALE HAPPENING NOW! DESIGN SERVICES THOMASVILLE BURLINGTON 2269 Fairview Street, Burlington Ph. 905-631-6000 SPECIAL FINANCING AVAILABLE Please see store for full details } Available at both locations ELIZABETH INTERIORS 409 Brant Street, Burlington Ph. 905-333-6670 1-888-846-7845