I recently connected with Joy from Give Hugs and was immediately drawn to what she was doing for pediatric patients. Her photos would tell a brief story of how she was making a positive impact on the children’s lives. It was incredibly touching and inspiring.
Joy is a sixteen year-old, young lady from Kansas who has had her fair share of hospitalizations in the past 20 months. She has been suffering from chronic, pain stricken migraines that have changed her daily function of life. During her hospitalizations for numerous IV treatments, injections to her head and medical procedures to alleviate her pain; she has been able to meet with peers and younger children going through similar challenging medical experiences. The empathy was there and she gathered their resilient strength to drive her into creating Give Hugs.
She creates care packages with her famous fleece tie blankets, toys, hats and coloring books to help a child cope during their hospital stay. She does it all by herself and then delivers them to the kids at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas. She also mails the care packages to children in further areas.
At such a young age, Joy has made a powerful imprint on children, families and the healthcare team. She has incredible strength to fight through her own debilitating pain and focus her energy in a positive way by giving back to others. She is simply amazing!
If you have been inspired by Joy and would like to contribute to her care packages, you can send a monetary donation or comfort items such as hats, headbands, scarves, I-Tunes gift cards, fleece and bedside activities. Contact her at joygivehugs@gmail.com or at Give Hugs.
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