Another grateful recipient

Hi everyone,
We received a note from a grateful mother whose daughter received a Project
Linus blanket and then wrote a school essay about it. Here is her essay.
Please feel free to share it with your blanketeers:


A Stitch of Love

Service above self can be many different things. It could be saving a third
world country from starvation, giving water to the homeless, or trying to
stop pollution, but what about putting smiles on kids’ faces? Isn’t that
supposed to be a main goal, especially on the faces of those in the hospital? They
may have cancer or have had major surgery. Some kids have Cystic Fibrosis.
Whatever the disease, kids need to smile.
I have Cystic Fibrosis, which affects my lungs and digestive system. I can’t
digest food, and my lungs are filled with mucus. I’m usually in the hospital
once or twice each year, but unfortunately, this year it was three times,
twice in two-and-a-half weeks.
Over Spring Break I was admitted to the hospital during the night because of
a bad fever and horrible chills which could’ve been caused by an infection in
my central line. My mom and I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep because
residents kept coming in. As you can imagine, we were extremely tired!
A few friends came, but the rest of the day, I dozed on and off. Later, the
Child Life employee, Tracey, came in and showed me what a port would be like
if I had to get one, and I started crying.
The whole day has been disastrous. First, I had to come in during Spring
Break. Then those chills, which still scare me. Now learning I might get a
port put in! This is just too much!
“Emily, you probably won’t have to get it. Dr. McWilliams just wants to
keep our options open,” my mom spoke.
“You’re a dancer, right?” Tracey questioned.
“Yes.”
“I’ve got just the thing for you.”
Within minutes Tracey was back with a beautiful pink ballerina blanket. As
we unrolled it, my mom and I saw a poem. When I read it, I started crying,
but they were good tears; tears of joy. I couldn’t believe someone would do
that for me. That blanket made my day.
I would love to be able to make some blankets to donate to the
hospital to help other children in difficult situations. Many of my friends
know how to make the blankets, so I’m going to start making plans for a
party where we could make them. These blankets would mean a lot to kids and
would make their day. If people would just see the look on kids’ faces when they
get something as special as a blanket, there would be a different perspective
on what people do for kids and teens in need of help.
Maybe giving blankets to children isn’t saving a third world country. Sure,
it’s not stopping pollution, either. What it is, though, gives children a
glimmer of hope of being out of the hospital, or at least making their room
brighter than just white. Patients should smile, as Tracey made me, even if
they are in the worst place to spend Spring Break!