Linnie's Hospital Treasures

Linnie spent more time in the hospital than any child should. We got pretty good at it. Together we learned so much about coping strategies, comfort, and distractions. Two were most important; so important, we never went to see a single doctor without them.

As an infant, Linnie was given a brown owl AngelDear lovie at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor Michigan. It became her most precious possession and came everywhere with us. Her first Christmas in the NICU Linnie's family and friends and extensive fanclub collected enough AngelDear lovies to give one to every baby in the NICU on Christmas Day. In fact, we collected enough to do it again on her first birthday.

The very best hospital, rehab, therapy, and pre-op toy we ever found was the Toniebox. You place a special character figure on top of the box and it immediately starts playing songs and stories that go with the character. They have characters from virtually every popular children's book, movie, or tv show you can think of. Linnie LOVED her box. It was her favorite distraction, and she loved showing it off to every doctor, nurse, surgeon, tech, and therapist she met. Every medical professional who saw Linnie and her box told us, ”We need one for our department!”

The day that Linnie died, she was holding her owl lovie and her toniebox was at her feet playing one of her favorites. In memory of Linnie, we are collecting funds to purchase and donate as many AngelDear lovies and Toniebox sets as we can to the hospitals that provided such wonderful care to Linnie. It makes us so happy to picture other children and families receiving comfort and joy from the things Linnie loved.