A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon at the CHU Sainte-Justine to help with the distribution of Cachou, a cuddly toy given to every hospitalized child.
When I got home at the end of the day, I posted this note on Facebook:
I just spent the afternoon volunteering at the CHU Sainte-Justine… wow. My heart is torn between hope, sadness, incomprehension, love and gratitude. I needed to share my feelings… thank you for listening.
Those words perfectly summed up my emotions at the time, and I feel the same now as I write these lines. It is impossible to visit the CHU Sainte-Justine, or even to talk about it, without being touched by all that takes places within its walls.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mom or due to the fact that I’m a former patient myself (I spent hundreds of hours of my childhood at the CHU Sainte-Justine), but when I got the call to come and help distribute the Cachou toys, the decision was easy – I didn’t hesitate for a second. Despite the distance (I live in Sherbrooke) and despite my kids being off school (the ongoing struggle for work-life balance), I knew I had to be there.
Meet Cachou
Cachou is a sweet little kangaroo, cute as a button, given to every patient – yes, every patient at the CHU Sainte-Justine! It’s just one way, among so many others, of humanizing the care provided at the hospital. Every year, a distribution day takes place with the staff from the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation and the team from Clément. In fact, the Clément family provides the stuffed toys to the hospital. What a wonderful gesture.
On the underside of each kangaroo is even a place to indicate the child’s name – what a great idea!
Thousands of stories
Cachou makes everyone smile. Cachou helps to clear one’s thoughts. Cachou offers comfort.
Cachou even mends sibling squabbles. One little boy was so excited to receive his Cachou stuffed toy so that he could give it to his brother. Since he already had one, he knew how much his brother would love to have his own. No more sibling rivalry on that front!
This year, a few days before the distribution, a young woman contacted the Foundation to ask whether she might be able to get a replacement Cachou; hers had been lost in a fire. Cachou was her favourite cuddly toy, because he represented 20 years of care and follow-up at Sainte-Justine. It just goes to show how deeply patients become attached to this sweet little kangaroo.
When I posted about my visit on my blog’s Facebook page, many families chimed in to share their own Cachou stories. I was moved to tears.
Photos : © Arianne Bergeron
A moment filled with gratitude
Speaking of tears, I definitely shed a few after my visit. And I would be lying if I said that my eyes weren’t filling with tears even now. Ideally, there would never be any sick children, but unfortunately, that isn’t the reality of the world we live in. I am very grateful to have been able to help, even just a little bit, on that very special day.
I close my eyes and see the face of every baby, child and teenager that I met. I see the faces of their parents, their friends and their brothers and sisters. I see the Foundation team, and the very generous team from Clément.
A small gift. A simple gesture that makes such an enormous difference in the lives of so many.
My dear Cachou, you are an extraordinary gem and it was my honour to see so many young eyes shining with excitement to see you.
Would you like to help in your own way? You can make the love you have for the children of Sainte-Justine tangible in many ways. Big or small, every gift counts towards the well-being of the children.
Jaime Damak, blogger
Jesuisunemaman.com
