VALLEY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

Valley Children's Hospital is one of the largest pediatric cancer hospitals in the country and have served over 1.3 million kids battling cancer over the past six decades.

At the end of 2020, we gifted Valley Children's Hospital $10,000 to fund 2 new special infusion pumps for leukemia patients. Certain leukemia patients receive a 28-day, continuous infusion that requires the child to be admitted to the hospital for the entire length of therapy. With the alternative infusion pumps that we are helping fund, patients will only need to spend the first 3-4 days in the hospital to initiate the treatment and can then be discharged. These pumps will decrease the amount of time patients spend in the hospital for treatment allowing them to spend more time at home with their families.

At the end of 2021, Love Your Melon gifted an additional $4,800 to Valley Children's Hospital to support the purchase of 60 Medi Teddy's "Hope" Edition for the oncology unit and infusion patients. Children receiving infusions in the hospital have often expressed how the hospital equipment and IV bags look intimidating, scary, and unfamiliar. By simply covering the IV bag with a Medi Teddy, a child's anxiety can be reduced. According to Medi Teddy, a recent survey indicated that 95% of respondents reported an improvement in emotional well-being while using a Medi Teddy, while 46% reported a reduction in physical pain during infusions.

Years Given: 2020, 2021