Friday, August 10, 2012

Cat Immersion Project Eases Teen’s Loneliness

Via New York Daily News - Thousands of people rallied around a teenaged girl, who was confined to her hospital room with graft-versus-host disease, to make her feel a bit less lonely. The cat-loving teenager missed her cat Merry immensely, so Seattle Children's Hospital created a "Cat Immersion" experience to lift her spirits during post-transplant treatment.



Maga Barzallo Sockemtickem, 16, experienced "Cat Immersion" when she was in the hospital for graft-versus-host disease treatment. This complication occurred following a bone marrow transplant, in which the donated cells attacked the patient's body.

Hospital staff created a makeshift tent out of sheets around Barzallo Sockemtickem's bed on July 25. They projected 1,800 cat images submitted by other cat lovers for four hours, accompanied with purring sounds, which she described as "really cozy."

The hospital staff watched as the teen's eyes lit up. Barzallo Sockemtickem appreciated the experience greatly. "Thank you for taking the time and sending all these picture in because it means so much to me. And it makes me really happy to see all these cats and it makes me think of my cat. They're all very cute," she said in a video message to the contributors.

Read full story at http://nydn.us/OaYxn0 
Written by Michael Walsh

4 comments:

  1. That's amazing and wonderful. Restores (some of) my faith in humanity.

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  2. Well, isn't that something! Just incredible! Animals do have the power to heal and I am very happy that Maga was given this special treatment!

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  3. That may be one of the sweetest videos I've ever watched. Totally tearing up over here.

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