Laura’s hand-stitched pillows bring comfort to thousands of sick kids!
The hospital can be a foreboding place— especially when you’re a terrified parent with a critically ill child. Laura Kupper knows firsthand how that feels, so this mom is bringing a splash of color and comfort to thousands of families with her hand-stitch
Stepping into the pediatric intensive care unit of her local Phoenix hospital, Laura Kupper’s heart squeezed as her eyes fell on her 9-month-old son, Preston, lying in a coma, hooked up to a respirator. I can’t believe this is happening, she wept. “It’s croup,” the urgent care doctor had diagnosed just days before when Preston had developed a fever and barking cough. But after undergoing a routine steroid breathing treatment, little Preston’s condition only worsened.
Soon he was struggling to breathe, and when Laura and her husband, Bryan, rushed Preston to the hospital, doctors discovered his airway was practically swollen shut, narrowed to the width of a coffee stirrer.
Sitting beside Preston’s crib, watching her son’s tiny chest heaving in and out to the rhythm of the ventilator, Laura burst into tears.
“I know it’s very hard seeing your baby this way,” a nurse soothed, and suggested Laura bring in a few familiar items from Preston’s nursery at home. “They’ll be a comfort to him…and to you,” she said.
The next day, Laura gathered Preston’s plush Winnie the Pooh, his Linus blankie and the oblong, brightly colored animal-print pillow a friend’s mom had hand-sewn for Preston when he was born and that he’d always loved to cuddle.
“Perfect,” the nurse said with a smile, and when she spotted the pillow, her eyes lit up. “This is phenomenal!” she exclaimed, and used the pillow to replace the rolled towels that had been propping Preston up in his crib so he could breathe easier. “Any chance you can get more of these for our other little patients?”
Laura explained the pillow had been a handmade gift. But as she gazed at Preston, seeing him nestled cozily against the colorful pillow, a sense of calm swept over her— and Laura knew other moms would feel the same way if their babies had one.
It doesn’t look too hard to make, Laura thought. And smiling, she said, “I’d be happy to make a batch.”
Moments of peace
Laura’s mom volunteered to help and hurried off to buy some bright, fun fabrics, filler and other supplies. And as they sat vigil at Preston’s bedside, the two women stitched and stuffed pillows, grateful to have something useful to take their minds off the constant worry.
Indeed, after finding the pillows easy to make, it wasn’t long before every child in the hospital’s PICU had a comfy pillow, and the nurses happily shared how touched and appreciative parents were.
But sadly, news from the doctors became more grim.
After eight days, Preston’s vitals had plummeted and tests revealed that he had developed a lesion on his bronchial tube that was completely blocking his airway. He needed immediate surgery to remove it before he suffocated. Please, God, let him be okay, Laura prayed as her precious baby was wheeled into the operating room. The hours dragged by, but when the doctor emerged, he was smiling: They’d successfully removed the lesion. After only a few hours, Preston’s breathing was regular again. And a few days later, he was well enough to go home. But while her family’s ordeal was over, Laura couldn’t stop thinking about all the other moms and dads still at the hospital with their sick babies. I will keep making pillows to bring them just a little more comfort and hope, Laura decided.
Stitched with love
Laura notified local hospitals of her project and setup a website, Pillows from preston. org. And soon she was getting hundreds of requests for pillows. With help from generous donors and shopping fabric sales, Laura and her mom have been able to purchase enough supplies to make sure that every child who needs a pillow gets one— more than 5,000 to date! And while making them is time-intensive, both insist it’s a labor of love.
Even Preston, now 6 years old, helps pick out fabric and pitches in as lead stuffer. “They’re filled with magic!” he beams.
Parents across the country agree.
You bring bright moments into a scary hospital stay that can often seem dark and lonely, one grateful mom of a baby girl waiting for a heart transplant wrote.
And every thank-you note and picture of a child cuddling a pillow Laura receives fills her heart with joy. “For me, each stitch is a kiss and every ounce of fluff is a hug,” she says. “Having been in these families’ shoes, I feel blessed to be able to offer comfort to them and their precious babies.”
“In these pillows, every stitch is a kiss and every ounce of fluff is a hug!”