LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Lubbock family is collecting toys for children spending the holidays at UMC Children’s Hospital, drawing from their own experience of being hospitalized during what should be the happiest time of the year.
The Wade family home is filled with toys this season, but not for their own children. The toys are destined for young patients at UMC through their annual drive called “Stuff the Van with Allie and Cole.”
Their mom, Deonna Wade, remembers the first year the family hosted the drive.
“It was just so fun, like the toys were coming into our house. I think the FedEx guy thought that we had like a shopping addiction or something because we were getting so many deliveries,” she said.
The family understands what it feels like to be in a hospital room during the holiday season. When Allie was four years old, she fell off the couch and was paralyzed.
“She had a brain abnormality that we didn’t know about. And so, she was paralyzed within just a few seconds,” Deonna said.
The family spent the next 200 days in the hospital, in the middle of the pandemic, missing out on all the holiday fun.
“During that time was Christmas and Thanksgiving and all those big holidays that are supposed to be family ones. And we spent them in Houston alone,” Deonna said.
The challenging time was made less difficult by child life specialists and people who brought some cheer to Allie’s room.
“We would get all these toys brought into the room to the point where I’d be like, okay, like we’re good. But it was just like this little pick me up, like that can be a very isolating and depressing experience when you’re in the hospital for any period of time, even if it’s like a week during the holidays,” Deonna said.
The next year, Deonna was inspired by another mother doing a toy drive in Waco, and “Stuff the Van with Allie and Cole” was born. What started as a potential one-time effort has continued for five years.
“And then the next year, all the same people who bought stuff from the year before were like, hey, are you gonna do that again?” Deonna said.
People can purchase toys from the family’s Amazon wish list until December 2. Allie and Cole will help deliver the toys to UMC on December 4.
“You buy one toy, it comes straight to my house. You don’t have to deal with it and it’s easy,” Deonna said.
In the last five years, the family has delivered nearly 1,800 toys to UMC. They start the drive every year on the anniversary of Allie’s injury to bring something positive to what can be a difficult time.
“She’s still pretty young, but she hangs out with adults a lot. So, she’s pretty mature and she gets it. She knows that what she went through is now helping people and she knows that her story is impacting people for good, even though it’s really, really, really hard,” Deonna said.
Deonna and her friend host the Raising Disabled Podcast, encouraging and highlighting other families in a similar situation.
The podcast is one of the sponsors for the toy drive this year, along with STM Pools, The Turquoise Shop, Denise and Martin Sevcik and Atmos Energy.
Deonna says sponsors who donate can help the family purchase presents that were left behind on the wish list. She says those often help patients like teenagers or newborn babies that are more challenging to shop for.
She’s hoping even more sponsors will donate this year to help deliver more toys to patients and their siblings. To become a sponsor, reach out to Deonna through her Instagram.
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