How Strangers Brightened My Day When I Was in the Hospital

Just by looking at me, you wouldn’t be able to tell that I spent a lot of time in the hospital as a kid.

There was a point in my childhood where the hospital became my second home. I knew every nurse’s name, how to request food that wasn’t listed on the hospital’s menu, and how to silence my IV machine when it rang. I even got used to spending days or weeks there. I became an expert on sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that affects the shape of red blood cells and causes severe pain, which I was diagnosed with at three months old.

I learned what it’s like to be woken up early for blood work, and had to get used to the constant flow of doctors and nurses coming in and out of my room. I learned what it’s like to miss special events and school because you’re in the hospital, and how lonely and frustrating it can be sometimes.

One of the hardest things about being hospitalized as a kid was not being able to hang out with my friends, play outside, or even eat my favorite foods. When I wasn’t surrounded by the things I loved, I normally got consumed by my anxiety, sadness, and worries.

“But, whenever someone would do something nice and unexpected for me, those negative feelings would melt away.”

It’s the little things, such as your class sending you a get-well card or a friend bringing you a puzzle because they know how much you love them, that make hospital stays a thousand times better. These are the memories kids will hold with them forever.

A random act of kindness that I hold close to my heart is a crocheted turquoise and brown blanket. This blanket was made by an older woman in a church group. All the women in that group would gather weekly to make blankets to donate to the pediatric unit in my hospital.

I received that blanket before I got my first blood transfusion. It was a small gift but it was exactly what I need when I was feeling scared and anxious about my transfusion. That blanket meant the world to me because a woman I never met made it because she wanted to bring smiles to the faces of kids who need to be hospitalized for long periods of time.

“Having the support of a stranger helped me get through some of the toughest days of my childhood and teenage years.”

Although I no longer have that blanket, I have fond memories of all the times I slept with it while being hospitalized and I’ll forever be grateful for the woman who made it.

You have the power to give a kid that same joy, through the Huddle to Brighten Someone’s Day campaign from DoSomething.org, powered by NFL Huddle for 100. You can join thousands of young people making fun activity books so children who are hospitalized can play games like tic-tac-toe, trivia, and mad libs.

By making them an activity book, you’re letting them know they’re not alone and that someone cares about them. You’re also taking their mind off the anxiety that comes with being in the hospital, and giving them the hope and courage they need to keep fighting whatever it is they’re going through.