Sunny Bear

Besides being in cardiac rehab, Dad did peer visiting at the hospital for Mended Hearts (www.mendedhearts.org). The nurses at the hospital LOVED him!

When he was hospitalized because of the brain tumor, these nurses in rehab and in the heart wing would come and visit Dad on their breaks. One of the rehab nurses brought him a beanie buddy called Sunny. Sunny is a pretty yellow bear with the cute face. Dad, of course, thought it was sweet that they were thinking of him, but kept telling me that I could take Sunny home and that I could have him.

I decided he needed a buddy so I'd leave it with him until he had his surgery. At that time, we retrieved all his stuff and took it home. Well, his friends at the hospital would have nothing of Dad being bearless. Once he was out of ICU, on one of my visits, I saw a new bear in Dad's room. This one was called Periwinkle. He was blue. For some reason, Dad was okay with having the blue bear because he never told me to take it home. I guess the blue bear was more manly than the sunny yellow one. After Dad died, Mom kept Periwinkle and I had Sunny.

I just was going through some of my things today, trying to get some cleaning, organizing, and unpacking done. I found Sunny! I just sat and held her for a while and I felt happy. It made me smile remembering the look on Dad's face when these sweet nurses kept bringing him, of all things, stuffed animals, and how the blue one was okay for him to keep but not the yellow one.