12-year-old girl with rare disease invents teddy bears that hide IV bags

Being in the hospital is a pretty terrifying experience for anyone, but this is especially true for children.

Ella Casano, 12, was told by her doctor that she would be hooked up to an IV for eight weeks for treatment of her chronic illness.

Ella was been diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, also known as ITP. The condition destroys platelets in her blood. Her GoFundMe says Ella will never be cured, but her family is hopeful as her condition can be treated.

Since she is aware of how terrifying the treatment can be, she has developed a way to make IVs seem a little less scary for other kids.

Ella came up with the idea for the Medi Teddy, a pouch on the back of a teddy bear that contains either IV bags or small bottles.

“When I had my first infusion, I was surprised and a little bit intimidated by the look of the amount of tubing and medical equipment on my IV pole. As I saw more and more children experiencing the same feelings, I became more interested in creating a friendlier experience for young IV patients, so I created Medi Teddy. I hope that Medi Teddy helps you just as much as it helps me!” Ella shared on her website.

Ella has obtained a patent for the stuffed animal and already has the initial prototypes for her invention, but she needs a minimum of 500 units for the initial production run.

To help raise money for her invention, her family booted up a GoFundMe campaign.

According to the GoFundMe page, Ella’s family is in the process of applying Medi Teddy to get IRS approval to become a 501(c)3. Once all the bears are created, Ella plans to give them all to children going through treatment in hospitals.

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