Anna's Army

I spent my holiday weekend selling books at the Festival of the Bells in Hillsboro, Ohio. Nice festival close to my house and church so I was able to catch up with a lot of people I know and a lot of longtime readers. Always a good way to spend a long weekend. I also got to know Justin Reno of Anna’s Army. If you’re not from the area you have probably never heard of Anna’s Army. I didn’t know much myself except everyone in the county has an Anna’s Army bumper sticker on their car or wear Anna’s Army shirts to Kroger’s.

Justin was the only guy in our booth so the rest of us vendors took advantage of him, ie: asking him to move heavy tables or reach high stuff. Over the course of the weekend, his story and the story of Anna’s Army came out, as it does everywhere he goes.

Justin and his wife Andi lost their daughter, Anna, 8 years ago to Cystic Fibrosis when she was 8. Anna was diagnosed with CF at age 3 months. I was practically in tears every time Justin told someone part of her story. During a slow time between customers, I told him as much. He smiled and said that wasn’t why he shared his story. Sharing for him was therapeutic. Justin isn’t a writer so he wears his story on his arms. He got his first tattoo as therapy on the first anniversary of Anna’s death. After that, on each anniversary of her death and on her birthday in June, he would add another chapter to Anna’s story with another tattoo. Now her story goes around and up both arms, with each addition telling another chapter of the amazing life this little girl led.

In the beginning, the tattoos were meant to help Justin deal with his grief. It didn’t take long, though, before he realized they were serving a purpose he hadn’t seen coming. Strangers would come up to him and comment on the tattoos, whether to tell him they hated tattoos or they loved the artwork. In either case, Justin was able to begin a dialog about Anna and Cystic Fibrosis and how the tattoos helped him through his grief. Talking with these strangers has been the greatest therapy he never saw coming.

Justin and Andi created a non-profit charitable organization 10 years ago to raise awareness of CF and other chronic conditions. Since then, the charity has donated over $100,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Eight years after Anna’s death, the charity continues to raise money for those in the community suffering from chronic—and usually fatal—conditions The community had been so helpful to Anna and the Reno family, they want to give something back. In 2009 the Highland County Commissioners declared the 3rd Friday in April to be Anna’s Army Day from now on. Like Andi Reno always says: Together anything is possible.