SPRING 2017 NEWSLETTER |
ISSUE 09
MSHF.ON.CA
MARKHAM.STOUFFVILLE. TM
How the Buy a Bear Program helped one young patient comfort another In fact, in addition to children, the bears have touched the lives of some of our most vulnerable patients – from the tiny newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit, to patients fighting cancer in our Chemotherapy Clinic, to the elderly suffering from dementia.
Mick Cavanagh, 13, bought a bear for fellow patient Andrew Easun, 7.
The Fracture Clinic at Markham Stouffville Hospital was the last place 13-year-old Mick Cavanagh wanted to be. After all, being treated for a broken bone isn’t much fun. Then Mick noticed a little boy, younger than himself, crying and obviously distressed. Mick’s heart instantly went out to him and he asked his mom, Sherry, to buy a bear to give to his fellow patient. “I know what it’s like to be scared,” he admitted. Sherry quickly went to the lobby to purchase a bear through the
Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation’s Buy a Bear program. Moments later, Mick gently placed the bear into seven-year-old Andrew Easun’s arms. “This is just the kind of thing Mick loves to do – to help people,” says his proud mom. Mick isn’t the only one who likes to help people. Since our Buy a Bear program launched last fall, the generosity of our community has been overwhelming. To date, over 600 bears have been purchased to bring comfort to patients like Andrew.
It’s not just comfort the bear brings when it’s needed most. This little bear gives our community the power to touch patients and change lives in a very unique and tender way. Nobody in the Fracture Clinic will ever forget how Mick paid it forward that day. His thoughtful gesture moved doctors, nurses, staff and patients to tears and left Andrew’s mother, Diana, speechless with gratitude. She later shared just how much the bear comforted her son as he
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