Our son Graham was born May 17 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.  On the day he was born he was sent immediately to the ICU.  The first time my husband Sam and I held Graham he was covered with leads and wires and wrapped in a flannel hospital blanket.  We were all the things that new parents are: happy, sleep-deprived, emotional.  But we were also worried and scared and the ever-present hospital equipment didn't help.  When Graham was two days old a nurse wrapped him in a blanket from Keith's family.  It had blue stripes.  Sam and I looked at him and for the first time saw him as just a baby.  Our baby.

Six months later Graham was hospitalized again for surgery.  For reasons we don't understand he received his angel wings December 9.  That morning he was wrapped in another blue blanket from Keith's family and in our heartbreak the blanket made us feel much less alone.  Even though we never met him, Keith has been a blessing to our family, especially to Graham.

Board Member, Keith's Comfort Blankets

This is a beautiful thing you both are doing.  Our son has the honor of being wrapped in love to celebrate the life of Graham!  Little did the nurse that picked it out for him know his nursery is in bears.  You have no idea how much joy it brought us walking in to him all cuddled up and looking so handsome!  Thanks for the donation 

I just wanted to write and say thank you for your donation! My son has been using several of the blankets you donated in honor of Keith. We are from Michigan and came to Nationwide for heart surgery for our Trisomy 18 baby. These blankets have made our son feel more like a " normal" baby versus one that is very sick. 
I thank you for these :) 

You all are amazing!! our baby girl has been on the heart floor at NCH for almost 6 months now and we have received many of your donated items. They have been greatly appreciated when we were in need of items for her. We would love to pay forward some day soon, like so many have done for us during our journey. Thank you for you kind giving heart, it means a lot.

We just received some of the blankets and a few outfits. Thank you so much. This kindness has brought tears to my eyes. Little Keith’s legacy will not be forgotten by us.

I have a little guy that I'm a foster parent of that has cerebral palsy. We received items from your special organization today. Thank you for touching his life.

My grandson received one of your blankets today and we feel truly blessed. He's 2 months old and in PICU with Flu A. He's had a rough few days and is hopefully doing better. But we thank you for this

Thank you so much. We just received various items on the pulmonary floor for our little girl. God bless you and your family and thank you for sharing Keith’s story.

We are so thankful for your dontions. My boy cant sleep without a swaddle and i had forgot his at home.

My 5 month old sweet girl was in the hospital for a week and we received items from you. Thank you for putting a smile on my girl with the items she received. She loves blankets!

Thank you for all your kind donations. We have been there for almost 4 weeks with our daughter now, she has received a few of your donated items. we appreciate them and your kind heart.

Our little girl is having her Glenn in 10 days. She has HLHS and they have to go through a series of 3 heart surgeries, 2 of them are open hearts, to try and fix her heart so it can flow blood in and out easier. Due to some issues with her heart they believe she will go into heart failure during her Glenn and need a transplant after her surgery. Thank you for your donations. She is loving her blankets. She loves to hold anything soft in her little hands. 

Hello! My little boy was born at NCH with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. We were inpatient for 17 days and we are home and he is doing great! We received a blanket during our stay with this email address on it and I wanted to reach out and thank you for the donation of our blanket! It is so soft and cuddly and it is one of our favorites! It made the hospital stay just a little more like home! 

Thank you for your donation of the beautiful blankets to children's hospital in Keith's name.  

My 12 day old son is recovering from emergency open heart surgery and I just noticed the tag on his blanket as I was sitting here praying for his heart to get back in rhythm.  Our nurse brought the blanket out this morning before surgery and we were able to hold him in it before he was wheeled back.  

My grand-daughter says thank you for helping keep her snuggled. 
With love & appreciation,
Grandpa Keith

My son was in the NICU at The Woman’s Hospital in Houston, Texas and received one of your blankets. Thank you so much! He still uses it all the time!

Thank you so much for the blankets for our daughter who has HLHS and she is getting ready for her Glenn operation in less than two weeks. We greatly appreciate the items you have donated in honor of your son. 

 I wanted to thank you sincerely for donating those beautiful blankets to Nationwide Children's. My daughter had her second open heart surgery and she is 21 months old. She was born with double outlet right ventricle and a few other heart anomalies. She had her first heart surgery, and the second surgery was to remove scar tissue that formed after the first surgery. We are hoping she will not have to go through this again, but the surgeon unfortunately cannot tell us that for certain. 
            We were in the cardiac ICU on the night after her surgery. She was on a pain pump and acting pretty loopy. She was still hooked up to the monitor, her chest tube, her temporary pacer wires, and multiple other lines, so they didn't have a gown on her. I asked the nurse if they had a light blanket I could throw over her just so she wouldn't be cold. She brought me your beautiful blanket, and said she'd been wanting to give the blanket to one of her patients. She put the blanket on my daughter, and gave me the tag, which I tucked in my purse. I had been crying all day off and on with the stress/emotions of her surgery, but the blanket made me cry again (in a good way). It was such a wonderfully kind and thoughtful and generous thing for your family to do, and I just want you to know how much it meant to a scared mom in the CTICU. 

Just wanted to thank you for the donations! We've received numerous blankets and clothing for our son in our many stays here at children's. It means a lot and we appreciate it.  Our son just received a heart transplant last week and he is doing well. Thanks again for what you do.

My name is Lauren W my son and I stayed in the room dedicated to Keith at Ronald MCDonald House this summer. I have been meaning to write you for months, sorry! We were so thankful for your generous donation and the chance to stay there while my son did an intensive 4 week therapy. We are from Cleveland and my husband needed to stay back and work, it was truly the perfect place for us. 

Our daughter is currently in the CTICU and the outfit you provided was adorable and such a welcome surprise.  Thank you.

Thank you for your donation to Children's Hospital. We love the knitted hats our sweet baby boy received! It was nice to have such a cute hat keep his little head warm. Your donation has helped to make our stay a little more comfortable. 

Good Morning,

I wanted to reach out to you as a grateful mom. A week ago our adult daughter, with Down Syndrome, was admitted to NCH in need of an emergency pace maker. She had not been on CT/ICU long out of the ER, when a beautifully fun blanket and a soft stuffed animal arrived with your tag in celebration of your son Keith. She is home now, and sleeps every night with her new blanket. Our journeys as parents take many directions and emotions over the years.