The first morning Lily was awakened at 6:00am by a team of nurses checking her vitals and withdrawing blood. Lily was scared, in tears and extremely tired. Afterwards, Lily was taken to a brightly decorated closet in the Nurse’s Station labeled Andrea’s Closet. The nurse opened the door and to our surprise the closet was full of games, toys, stuffed animals, books, etc. Lily was told she could choose anything for being a ‘brave little girl.’ Lily chose the game Candy Land. Andrea’s Closet is a toy closet established in honor of Andrea Nicole Brunk, who passed away from leukemia shortly before her tenth birthday. Pediatric patients can choose a toy from the closet as a reward for their bravery after they go through a treatment or procedure. Candy Land would be the first of many gifts Lily would receive for her bravery.
Although we were scared by the news of Lily’s diagnosis and overwhelmed with everything we had to learn to take care of her; we were also comforted. We were comforted by Bunny,
by crayons, by markers, stickers, make-up, dolls, games, books and DVD’s. All these comforts were made available through DONATIONS and by VOLUNTEERS.
Our family spent every day at the hospital with Lily. Together we played games, read books, colored and watched movies. Volunteers did arts and crafts with us. There were also volunteers from the Phoenix Zoo that did a presentation for the children with live animals. Tara and Lily still giggle about how some of the animals peed on the floor. We were worried about Lily, but I cannot emphasize the power of these donated items and the volunteers and the encouragement they provided Lily and our family.
In January, Tara and Lily started selling Girl Scout Cookies. They each set a goal to sell 175 boxes. Wow! How are we going to sell 350 boxes in our neighborhood when there are so many Girl Scouts also selling cookies? We came up with the idea to sell cookies to all of our friends and family and offered the option of buying cookies and donating them to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. PCH has a complimentary coffee and cookie cart for patients and their families. This service is made available by donations of cookies and volunteers serving the families.
I am proud to post that last week we delivered 108 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies donated by our friends and family. They are not just boxes of cookies; they are comfort, hope, relief and encouragement. We have been there, we know.
In addition to donating cookies we also donated Pop Tabs to the Ronald McDonald House located at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Many of our friends and family save Pop Tabs too. The Pop Tabs are taken to recycling centers and the money received is used for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald houses while their loved one is staying in the hospital. The House that Love Built
Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. ~Author Unknown
