home
RSS
Hospital brings 3,000 cats to cancer patient
August 6th, 2012
01:21 PM ET

Hospital brings 3,000 cats to cancer patient

Seattle Children's Hospital's oncology unit, which gave us the "Stronger" video that went viral in May, is now bringing smiles to the faces of cat lovers everywhere with a new project.

Maga Barzallo Sockemtickem, 16, has been confined to her hospital room for nearly a month while undergoing post-bone marrow transplant treatment, according to the hospital's On The Pulse blog.

The thing she misses most? Her cat, Merry.

So Seattle Children's asked Facebook fans to send in pictures of their favorite pets - and received 3,000 photos in response. The hospital staff then combined the cat photos with purring sounds to create a slideshow for the teenage cancer patient.

It's not unusual for cancer patients to be placed in isolation for months at a time due to their compromised immune systems, according to the blog.

"I can’t tell you how it feels sometimes, feeling disconnected and cut off from the world, and then with something like cat pictures bringing me back," Sockemtickem said in the post. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Watch Sockemtickem experience the "Cat Immersion" project for the first time:

 Post by:
Filed under: Cancer • Conditions
Next entry »
« Previous entry
soundoff (96 Responses)
  1. Oncology Surgery India

    Is it true?
    Regards:cancer treatment india

    August 23, 2012 at 08:33 | Report abuse | Reply
  2. Beatrice M. Zimmer

    What a wonderful thing to do; pictures of one beautiful cat after another, and the sounds of happy cats purring, is great medicine and will work a miracle I am sure!

    August 23, 2012 at 23:11 | Report abuse | Reply
  3. Hayley de ronde

    Recent studies have proven a cats purr can aid bone function. Maybe there is a correlation we are missing here. Shame she isn't allowed her own cat!!

    August 28, 2012 at 17:29 | Report abuse | Reply
  4. Renee Leighton

    That brought tears to my eyes. I hope she has a speedy recovery so she can go home to her own cat.

    October 11, 2012 at 16:55 | Report abuse | Reply
  5. Jennifer Mary Hands

    HI!!I care for & rehome rescue cats.Love them all,,can't imagine a world with no cats.Best wishes for the future.Big hugs.. <3

    October 12, 2012 at 00:49 | Report abuse | Reply
1 2

Post a comment


  

CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.

Next entry »
« Previous entry
Advertisement
About this blog

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.