Peyton's Story:
When our little girl, Peyton, was just 17 months old, she underwent major brain surgery to remove a colloid cyst from the third ventricle of her brain. She spent several days in the ICU and we didn't leave her side. It was during that time that we realized other children in the ICU were not as fortunate as Peyton, and it tore our hearts out. It was then we decided we wanted to at least do something to help comfort them, so we decided to bring some toys up with us the next time we visited for Peyton's follow up appointment/MRI the next couple weeks.
We started out just posting on Facebook to our friends and family that we were bringing up some toys to donate and if anyone wanted to contribute we would be happy to bring them along. Much to our surprise, the toys began pouring in and we ended up bringing over 200 toys with us that first year! It was amazing! Channel 2 ran the story!
We decided to have the official toy drive the next year, with a goal of 200 toys to collect. The caring and compassionate people of WNY (and beyond!) really outdid themselves and donated nearly 500 toys! Channel 2 ran the story again for us and even followed us to the hospital for the drop off.
We did it again for year 3. You helped us raise over 1,000 toys for the children in the ICU! We know a toy cannot replace a parent or take away the pain, but it may bring a child some comfort during a time when they need it most.
See the story here:
https://rumble.com/v44t6d-akron-family-donates-1000-toys-to-kids-at-oishei.html
We are also looking for volunteers to help with the 2019 season, so if you would like to help out, please email us at [email protected]
Thank you for your support!
You can read about a Colloid Cyst here:
https://radiopaedia.org/articles/colloid-cyst-of-the-third-ventricle
The doctors said they had never operated on someone as young as Peyton, and she was experiencing the severe, acute symptoms mentioned in this article which made her surgery not only necessary, but urgent in nature. We are forever grateful to Dr. Li and his surgical team, the loving nurses, and the entire staff at Children's Hospital for treating our daughter with such care and compassion while saving her life. It is truly an honor for us to be able to give back to the hospital in such a small way.