There’s so many sights and sounds at a hospital that can be frightening for a child.
Even though 12-year-old Ella Casano found herself in a hospital setting every eight weeks for infusions, she never got used to seeing all the equipment.
One day she got an idea, what if she covered up her IV bag with a cute stuffed animal?
When Ella was seven years old she was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Typically children develop ITP after a viral infection and recover shortly after, according to the Mayo Clinic, but not Ella.
ITP is when your immune system attacks and destroys platelets, which results in bruising and easy bleeding.
To combat a low platelet count, Ella receives an IVIG infusion every eight weeks. It was during one of her first infusions that the idea for Medi Teddy began to form.
“When I had my first infusion, I was surprised and a little bit intimidated by the look of the amount of tubing and medical equipment on my IV pole,” she wrote on her website. “As I saw more and more children experiencing the same feelings, I became more interested in creating a friendlier experience for young IV patients, so I created Medi Teddy.”
The Medi Teddy is a stuffed bear that is able to hang on an IV pole and features a mesh pouch on its backside that fits a bag of medication or fluids.
The bear is a much more desirable sight than a bag full of fluids.
Ella currently has a patent for the Medi Teddy and is already in the process of manufacturing the first 500 Medi Teddies.
Once Ella receives the final product she plans on donating them to children in hospitals to make their treatments a little less scary.
If you would like to help Ella reach her goal, you can visit Ella’s GoFundMe.
This is such an awesome idea!
I hope she’s able to help lots of children.
Share this post and spread the word about her wonderful invention, Medi Teddy.
