Kayla still remembers her young daughter Clara’s smile when she received a Higgy Bear. Higgy Bears are no ordinary stuffed animals – they come with miniature replicas of the equipment children receive when they are treated for scoliosis.
“Her face lit up,” Kayla recalls. “She was so excited because this was something that looked like her.”
Clara, now 8, was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, as a baby. She began Mehta casting (a plaster and fiberglass cast) at 15 months and has worn over a dozen casts for spine straightening. These days, her treatment involves a thoracic-lumbar-sacral orthosis, a type of brace that hugs her torso tightly to help prevent further curvature of her spine.
Clara said wearing braces and casts can be difficult, and having scoliosis can feel lonely. However, Higgy Bears helped her feel more comfortable and confident and inspired her to help other children going through similar experiences. Now, she collects donations to purchase Higgy Bears for Shriners Children’s Lexington, where she is a patient of Vishwas Talwalkar, M.D.
The first time she held a donation drive for Higgy Bears, she collected 46. This year, her goal was 50, but with the help of her friends, family and community, she collected four times that many.
In June, Clara delivered 100 Higgy Bears, all wearing a variety of braces, to the medical center. Once Higgy Bears fulfills the rest of the order, she will deliver 100 more bears for kids like her.
“I think other kids should have Higgy Bears to love and care for as nurses and doctors do with patients at Shriners Children’s,” Clara said. “I think they’re going to put smiles on their faces.”
Care managers and recreational therapists often give the bears to patients recently diagnosed with scoliosis, hoping to have the same effect Clara experienced. Clara says this helps add joy to a difficult time.
