A Cozy Little Christmas

Hi all! I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving; we sure did! And, for the first time in years, I braved the Black Friday crowds.  Jessi, Jeramie, and myself found ourselves at Wal-Mart at 10:00 on Thanksgiving evening, standing in awe with mouths agape - watching women tear through bath towels like they were pairs of Jon Bon Jovi's underwear.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, and had only two items in mind: pajamas and slippers.

Most of you know that I am a part of a family advisory council for the pediatric intensive care units (general and cardiac) at Duke Children's.  Our mission is to support those families who find themselves in either of the units, and we've done everything from providing meals to creating crisis admit bags for them.

Recently, we learned of a need for things like kid-friendly, comfortable shirts and pants, underwear, and slip-resistant footwear for the children in those units.  During the first critical hours/days in the ICU, most children are either wearing only a diaper/underwear (at least), or are covered up by hospital blankets (at most).  Very rarely do clothes come into the picture.  However, during that period of time between "critical" and "stable", when children may stay in the ICU for monitoring before being moved out to the floor, clothes still aren't always readily available, but are needed.  The fortunate ones - whose parents live close by, or who have friends bringing things to the hospital - may find themselves in a clean pair of underwear or a favorite t-shirt.  But, many nurses end up scrounging around for a decent-sized hospital gown for their patient just so the child can take a walk around the unit.

Our council decided to do something about this and, without further ado, I present to you...

Christmas Flyer
One of the mothers on our council has volunteered to cut the t-shirts up the back and attach a piece of Velcro at the neck so that they are easy to put on and take off amidst wires and tubes.  And what child in the ICU wouldn't love a pair of comfy, fun pants?! The side-snap onesies will come in handy for the wee little ones (I speak from experience), and our family chose to go the slipper route instead of socks (either are completely fine).

I know many of you reading this have spent lots and lots of time at your local children's hospital and may already have something planned for them this Christmas season.  But, we will greatly appreciate any item(s) you wish to donate! If you're reading this from Canada and can't physically deliver items to me, I will gladly accept monetary donations and purchase something for you!

I would love nothing more than to deliver bags and bags of clothing to the units, knowing that no child will have to sit half-naked in a hospital bed on Christmas day (and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that), and I would love for you to help make that possible!

Thanks for considering this as part of your holiday giving this year!