Dispensary Corner

THERE’S nothing particularly nice about getting hooked up to an IV drip, and the thought of having a needle injected can be scary no matter what age you are.

For Ella Casano (12) who was diagnosed with an autoimmune, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura when she was seven, the prospect of IV infusions was intimidating.

So in an effort to make the experience a little more friendly, she came up with a unique way to hide the infusion bag, cutting up a stuffed animal to cover the IV bag, and creating her first MediTeddy.

Since her first effort, Ella has tested a number of designs, and developed a business plan to roll out the MediTeddy so other kids won’t need to be scared of IV treatments.

Last week Ella launched a GoFundMe page to raise US$5,000 to order 500 teddies which she will distribute to children at no cost.