Sam’s Comfort Pack
When Sam was beginning his bone marrow transplant, we knew he would endure 100 days of isolation—including time spent away from his twin sister, Ava. As we approached the transplant, I asked Sam what he wanted to do to put a positive spin on the situation and lift spirits. He said that he wanted “to make all the kids comfortable while they were in the hospital.”
I smiled, because that answer was just so… Sam.
I then asked him, “Ok, buddy, what makes YOU comfortable?”
He said he liked soft blankets because the hospital ones were too scratchy. He also mentioned his cuddly stuffed friends, because he really needed them when Ava couldn’t be there. As I was nodding my head and fighting tears, he added one more item. He said he really liked movies and wanted to include them too.
This resonated with me, because I saw how hard it was for Sam to do the things he used to do—like play with his Legos. Chemotherapy damages nerves in kids’ hands, making it very difficult to hold a crayon or snap a Lego. In fact, all of these items made sense to me, but I knew it would be a challenge to raise the money to put all of these things together.
I said to Sam, “Well, that’s a lot to get donated.”
In his confident, quiet tone that only he had, he said, “It will be OK. We can do all three.”
All I could do was sit back, kiss his forehead, and say, “OK. You got it.”
And, in the Super Sam community’s typical style, the outpouring of support was phenomenal. We quickly had enough donations for well over 100 packs. More than 2000 Comfort Packs have now been sent nationwide.
