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Sew Angelic
November 7, 2007
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It’s an idea that’s sparked thousands of smiles and it’s making a big difference
for some of Southwest Florida’s smallest patients.
About ten years ago the doctors and staff at the Children’s Hospital of Southwest
Florida decided to spruce up their scrubs.
“A lot of the staff members started wearing scrubs that had cartoon characters,
baseball teams, sporting teams and the children were taking notice of this in the
pre-op area and some children would ask if they could have a hat,” says Sandi Falk
a registered nurse and pediatric specialist at Children’s Hospital of Southwest
Florida.
So with a few yards of fabric, a little bit of elastic and lots of love the SEW
ANGELIC program was born.
Sandi says,
“The five of us sat down and started to brainstorm and we thought well it’s just a round circle with some elastic so maybe we could make some hats. We
stared a sewing circle on Wednesdays and we had a room here at the hospital.
Now every little patient gets to choose their own, colorful cap to wear during surgery
and they even get to take the hat home after the procedure.
“They come in here very frightened you know hiding behind mom and dad but as soon
as they see that Dora or Thomas the Train, their eyes light up and the hat goes
on.”
Since it began, the program has handed out more than 15-thousand hats and even more
smiles to patients and parents.
Sandi says, “They get so excited it’s amazing. You mean I get a hat, you’d think
we’d given them a thousand dollars. Everybody seems to be a little calmer because
you see smiles instead of teas and when you see your child smiling it’s not nearly
as devastating to the parent.”
Sandi says the SEW ANGELIC program is catching on. There are now similar programs
in hospitals all across the United States and in China and New Zealand.
If you want to learn more about volunteering for or donating to the SEW ANGELIC
program you can log onto www.leememorial.org.
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