Helping a child conquer his or her anxieties while in hospital isn't easy for a mama and daddy. They are in pain and don't feel well, they miss being home, wearing cozies, eating yummy food, everything about home. And in many cases, like Ian's last fall, he missed his sister. And his big sister missed him, even though she wasn't sure why.
Ian has a severe blood clotting disorder called Von Willebrand, and apparently an undiagnosed bleeding issue along with the VWd. When he caught H1N1 last fall he had a massive internal bleed that caused him to be hospitalized for a full week. The bleeding patients and the cancer patients share a floor and medical staff, so because of the H1N1 outbreak, Ian couldn't have any visitors under the age of 18. Even Eleanor, his sister.
This is where ConKerr Cancer comes into the story. People from all of the country make pillow cases out of bold, bright, pretty and just fun fabrics. They then donate them to Conkerr Cancer, an organization that distributes the pillowcases to children's hospitals all over the country. The incredibly thoughtful staff at Akron Children's Hospital not only gave pillowcases to Ian, but he gave us matching ones for Elly, who was at home with Grandma missing all of us.
It is so easy to make a pillowcase and so many of us have a stash of fabric large enough that we could never use it up in our lifetime. Please consider making some for a little one. Many quilt shops are drop-off sights, so make a call to your favorite shop or go to http://www.conkerrcancer.org/index.html for all of the information you need.
