A helping hand is something that we think of when we need it most. However, for families that have had a child admitted to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, they often pray for a miracle.
This was not a one off thing. One year earlier, in December of 2021 (three months after their daughter’s diagnosis), Bryan and Jayme Hair established “Bella’s Blessings” which is a fund at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital that is used to provide for families that are unexpectedly admitted to the hospital. The fund provides families with restaurant gift cards, blankets, sound machines, night lights, gas gift cards and a host of other items that families need.
I asked Bryan what their driving force to do this was and he said “our lives were turned upside down when Bella was diagnosed and we were admitted directly to ICU on September 22, 2021. All we needed to focus on was Bella. Neither Jayme nor myself had a phone charger let alone a change of clothes. When you’re in the hospital with your child, you don’t think about food, comfort care items, blankets, stuffed animals or anything like that. You think of your child. We were blessed to have friends, family and our church show up to the hospital like pack mules with clothes and a host of other things that we didn’t know that we would need when we went in for what we thought would be a 45-minute, in and out MRI. We looked around on the ICU floor and noticed that other families didn’t have local support since they had traveled from outside of the area—this hit home with Jayme and I. With Bella’s Blessings, we want to do our part to be there for those folks that don’t have anyone. When you go through a diagnosis and your world changes, something as simple as trying to coordinate a meal is beyond difficult. Not knowing if you have enough money to cover food and gas is something that no parent in that situation should ever have to worry about. That’s where we want to help.”
Three months ago, Bella’s Blessings partnered with Special Spectators, a national organization that provides gameday experiences for seriously ill children across the country at college football games. The event was called “Bella’s Special Blessings” and raised over $45,000 that was split between Bella’s Blessings to benefit East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Special Spectators. Keynote speakers for the evening were VFL’s Jeff Hall and Will Overstreet and his wife, Jennifer Overstreet. Bryan and Jayme have said that they’re just getting started and want this fund to continue to grow to help families both now and in the future.
For more information about Bella’s Blessings or how you can get involved visit the Facebook page here or if you’d like to make a donation, visit here
