Kidney patient creates Silly Kidneys to boost patients’ morale

Erin was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, when she was 6 years old. At age 9, after spending, lengthy periods at hospital for treatment, she asked the hospital’s child life specialist to help her build a pillow similar with her kidneys. This creation helped her to boost her morale and after another stay at the hospital, in 2017, she decided to help other kids with kidney disease to make their own silly kidney pillows.
This was the beginning of the Silly Kidneys. Through December of 2017, the project released 75-100 pillows to kidney disease patients.

“A lot of the kids send us pictures when they’re finished,” Erin said. “It makes me really happy that they get to do the same thing I did in the hospital.”

Silly Kidney pillow kits are sent to children at home, at dialysis centres or at hospitals where they are receiving treatment. Each kit includes an empty Silly Kidney pillow and a bag of stuffing. Or, for a child who does not have the motor skills or energy to stuff their own pillow, they will get a pillow that is already made. Whether they receive a pillow that is made for them, or they make it on their own, each child will get to decorate their pillow with a smiley face.

The Silly Kidneys act as a morale’s booster for children suffering from kidney disease but it also helped Erin to build a network of her peers who understand each other and the challenges they face.

Adapted from:
https://eu.upstateparent.com/story/life/2018/04/06/kidney-patient-create...

More info:
https://sillykidneys.com