From accident to action: Fort Myers High School freshman gives back to Golisano Children's Hospital
When it comes to doing good deeds, calories don't count.
Or, at least, they shouldn't when it comes to a bake sale in the name of charity. The bake sale is happening at Fort Myers Brewing Co. in Gateway on Thursday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. in partnership with local baking company A Little Cookie Shoppe. The money will benefit Golisano Children's Hospital and its efforts to give patients comfort during what can be anxious times.
Summer Kates, 13, a freshman at Fort Myers High School, knows all about hospital anxiety from spending four days there with a broken leg. After her stay, she founded Summer's Project, a charity to benefit the Child Life Specialist Program at Golisano.
Summer has already raised $1,800 for the program, and she's not done yet.
An accident becomes an initiative
On New Year's Day 2015 Summer was hit by a car and rushed to the hospital. It was one of the worst days that Mark Kates, Summer's father, can remember. Summer was 10 years old.
"As a parent, seeing a child involved in an accident that makes them go via ambulance to the hospital is one of the scariest things I have ever experienced," Kates said.
Summer said she felt nervous and scared, until she encountered the hospital's Child Life team, a team designed to "help child patients understand and cope with medical treatment," according to the Lee Health website.
During her four-day hospital stay, Summer interacted with specialists who visited often, asking her how she was doing, explaining any medical procedures happening to her and giving her books to read.
"They treated me really well. They made sure I was extremely comfortable," Summer said.
The Child Life program began in Lee County in 1989 and now has 10 specialists. Karlie Colwell is one of them. She said the program is crucial to a child's healing, but many are unaware of its existence.
"This program is the reason kids who have been near drowning are playing in the sprinklers the next summer," Colwell said. "It's the reason those who have been in car accidents are out riding their bikes."
Summer's father said seeing his daughter receive that level of care by Child Life took a big weight off his shoulders.
"Making her smile and laugh with such a horrible thing going on — well, it was just one of those really, really bad experiences, but they made the experience a good experience," Kates said.
Summer hadn't fully healed before she began brainstorming how to give back to the program. After she returned home, Summer baked cookies and sold them in her front yard, earning roughly $100 to donate.
"It's just grown much bigger now," Summer said.
Summer has since donated more than $1,800 to the program from annual bake sales. Her new goal is to raise $1,500, and she's more than halfway there according to her GoFundMe page.
"After the fact, seeing Summer take her experiences and move it to the pay-it-forward mantra and start to give back to the people who gave to her — it's just an awesome thing," Kates said.
A day in the life of a Child Life specialist
Golisano's Child Life specialists start their days by looking at the census of patients and seeing which children are in most need, such as children who just arrived at the hospital or have a major procedure that day.
Kids who have been at the hospital for a while are also a priority.
“We want them to keep feeling better, and one of the best ways for kids to feel better is for them to play,” Colwell said.
Specialists also organize events to brighten kids’ spirits, such as ‘Mollusks on the Move’ from the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, yoga, therapy dog visits, weekly golf and arts and crafts.
“We have different activities constantly going on where we can invite kids to get out of their rooms, be around other kids, so they can see they’re not the only one going through these things," Colwell said.
More: A first peek inside the new Golisano Children's Hospital
Another crucial part of the job is describing to children what is happening to them medically, such as MRIs, IVs and procedures. This takes fear out of the process and empowers the child, Colwell said.
“I always tell kids, ‘I’m kind of like a teacher, but I don’t teach school stuff, I teach hospital stuff.'"
Colwell said children's resilience amazes her daily.
"They go through these traumatic experiences and they come out the other side being OK, and they’re strong even though sometimes they're scared or they might be crying," Colwell said.
"To be able to see them conquer it is so amazing."
IF YOU GO
What: Summer's Project Bake Sale
When: 4:30-9 p.m. Thursday
Where: Fort Myers Brewing Co.; 12811 Commerce Lakes Drive, Gateway
Details: Bake sale table is cash only. Food trucks will also be there along with live music from 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Cookie ingredients: Cookies made by A Little Cookie Shoppe are made with butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, flour, baking powder, confectioner's sugar, meringue powder, food coloring and water. There will also be "Oreo balls" and "giant chocolate chip cookies" made by Summer.
Donate: GoFundMe.com/SummersProject
More: A Little Cookie Shoppe can be found at facebook.com/alittlecookieshoppe. Call Fort Myers Brewing Co. at 313-6576 or visit fmbrew.com.