We handmake every ZipShirt and donate them to other smiling faces in need of a special shirt! In the spring of 2013, Luke was playing as I noticed a few bruises scattered across his arms. After an appointment with his pediatrician, he was immediately sent for blood work. Within hours, Luke was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, also known as ALL. After a 10-day stay at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Luke began his weekly routine of chemotherapy and blood transfusions. His treatment will last a little over 3 years. After the first hospital stay, Luke came home to a package on our doorstep. It was a JoyJar that was inspired by a little girl, Jessie, that lost her battle. A stranger sent it to him, and we were touched. From then on, we knew we had to be a part of the PAY IT FORWARD movement. We were inspired by Jessie's good heart and we decided to help in 2 ways. While Luke was in the hospital, he couldn't be confined to his room for any length of time. He trekked up and down the halls, pushing a squeaky kid-sized shopping cart filled to the brim with plastic food, waving to other patients and nurses. In the future, Luke hopes his cart will hold lots of homemade caps from a California based charity called Knots of Love. Luke is Knots of Love's official ambassador for Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. For more information on Knots of Love, please visit www.knotsoflove.org
Luke started his clinic visits in June. As he would come for procedures, Luke never liked to take his shirt off. We needed to come up with a plan that would stop Luke's tears every time a nurse needed to access his port. The 'shirt with a zipper' idea was born. We have a special fairy godmother that hand makes each one of the ZipShirts. Because of the generosity of others, we decided to make shirts for other kids that Luke would see at clinic. To date, we have passed out over 30 shirts with plans for 100 more! We would love to see more shirts, more zippers, and more smiles on kid’s faces! Send a photo of your child in their ZipShirt to www.zipsforkids@gmail.com" rel="ugc" target="_blank">www.zipsforkids@gmail.com
or post it on our page! Let us know what your ZipShirt has meant to your child!
