started...
The first day I accompanied my mom and dad to one of my mom’s treatments at New York Oncology Hematology I immediately noticed how many older people were there alone while everyone else had friends or family sitting with them. I saw one gentleman sitting in the corner of the treatment room proudly donning his Vietnam War Veteran baseball cap. He was feeling the side effects of his trea
tment, cold and getting sick. I got a blanket from one of the nurses for him and covered him up. I sat next to this gentleman and struck up a conversation. Now keep in mind at the time I was only 8 years old. I was fascinated with the military and history of recent wars. I became fast friends with my new buddy. From that time on, I went to each treatment with my mom until she gracefully went into remission. During that time, I went three times a week for 6 weeks with mom and sat with my "buddy", who I named "Buddy," and we would talk for hours. Each visit, I immediately went to the blanket/pillow cabinet and got Buddy a warm blanket, covered him up and settled in for an adventure Buddy would take me on with his stories. The last treatment day for mom, I went bouncing into the treatment room excited to see Buddy only to find his treatment chair empty. Confused, I went to my favorite nurse, Jill, and inquired when Buddy will be arriving. My mom knew what must be coming and it wasn’t good but I was oblivious to the reality of cancer at the time. Buddy didn't make it to his next treatment. I later did find out that nurse Jill and the staff received a letter of thank you for taking care of Buddy from his family who was living across the country. In the letter was mentioned the "little blanket boy" who brought so much joy to their dad (whose name we never did find out). Since then I have vowed every Vet would always have a warm blanket for their treatments. So, throughout the year I take a portion of my earnings from the various jobs I do and put it away. After Thanksgiving, on Black Friday which I renamed to Buddy Blanket Friday, I take those saved funds and buy warm blankets (fondly dubbed Buddy Blankets) to take to oncology hematology centers for Vets to have. We now have been able to make sure all the adults receiving various treatments have a treatment blanket from Buddy Blankets. For additional stories on how Buddy Bears and Tammy Buddy Bears started please visit our website www.buddyblanketsandbear.com
