Bear Hugs

Some of our amazing volunteers!!

Some of the bears and other animals...waiting to be adopted!!

After choosing an animal...the children choose an outfit for their special friend.

Tuesday was the 3rd Annual Bear Hugs celebration at Cooks Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. Below is an email I sent out recapping our evening!!


Dear Friends and Family,


Thank you all so much for making our 3rd year of Bear Hugs a success. We had quite a few volunteers and gave away 56 bears/outfits, 10 Webkinz and several already stuffed animals. Here's a few highlights and some photos of our adventure. Just a note...we cannot take photos of the children so we took a few pics while setting up...before the kiddos came in.
Again this year...the wonderful Miss Angie from Celebration Station and her delightful family provided the bears and the stuffing machine. They make this possible and always bring a herd of teen-agers who amaze me with their kindness to the children we see. This year we were set up on the 5th floor...the 3rd floor (oncology) where we set up last year has gotten stricter guidelines and many of those children were not able to leave there rooms. We made animals for them, stopped by their rooms to say hello...and were greeted by sweet faces yet very sick kids. Some smiled weakly from their beds...some didn't smile at all. Many had their face covered by a mask....some were bald or almost bald...they spend their days in a very small world, surrounded by beeps and wires and worried parents. Hopefully, we brought them a smile.
Upstairs in the "Stuffing Room"...we saw lots of children, each with a different story. We had a mom come by to build a bear for her daughter. She took a long time to choose the right one and stayed to chat with us quite a bit. She really seemed to need someone to talk to so we all visited with her. Later she came back with her little girl...attached to a pole and lots (I mean lots) of wires and tubes. She said "I begged the nurses to bring her out to show you". She was 11 months old, has had numerous surgeries and has liver failure...three days after Christmas she will fly with her mom to Philadelphia where mom will donate a portion of her liver to save her daughters life. Wow!!!
We also met Superboy...he was quiet but smiled alot...he had to stay outside the room because his bed wouldn't fit...we held up animals and outfits until he gave us a thumbs up!! I asked him what happened...he had a pin through his leg and it was in traction...he said he had jumped off a one story or a two story "thing" at school. He choose a bear dressed up as a football player.
We met a mom and dad who choose a bear for their son who had just had surgery...they would be home for Christmas but back a few days later for radiation. They looked so tired. The thought of making the decisions they are forced to make terrifies me.
We saw a young lady in a wheelchair come in with her family and make a bear...she couldn't speak but would smile and kiss her bear over and over...I smiled too...so did her mom.
Sadly, we also saw a friend from last year....the young lady who spent Christmas in the hospital last year...who helped us make bears for her friends who were to sick to come out of their rooms...was back again this year. She'll spend Christmas in the hospital again this year....she suffers from kidney failure. She went back to her room being pulled in a wagon shared by a tiny girl wearing a mask. She's twelve and seems to enjoy taking care of the smaller patients. She told me "Everyone knows me and I know everyone" I didn't know whether to smile at her popularity or cry because she shouldn't be in the hospital long enough to "know everybody".
We had a family come in and make a bear...then head off again. Later, in the elevator, we overheard Dad tell someone on the phone "We got an update...it isn't good...I'll tell you later" What do you say...what do you do?? We all just rode down quietly with him.
For next year...we're working on becoming an actual...official non-profit organization. We have big ideas, Miss Angie and I...big plans. We would like to serve more hospitals, get corporate sponsors...share more Bear Hugs. It really, really does make a difference.
As always, I'm surprised how many people come up to thank me...in the midst of all they are facing, they tell me thank you. One Grandma told me thank you for allowing the siblings to make a bear too. With brother or sister sick...they often get lost in the shuffle as the attention is focused on the sick child. I am blessed..with my friends, my family and my healthy children. I'm honored to be able to do this each year in remembrance of my dad. Merry Christmas and thank you all so very much for allowing me to have a night spent giving...in the true spirit of Christmas.
Amy