By Michael Howell
Six-year-old Isabel Williams was at a loss for words to say why she chose to use the money she got as a Christmas gift this year to purchase a bunch of stuffed animals for use in the Emergency Room at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital. Her mother, Heather, thought maybe it had something to do with her own recent trauma. Isabel was bitten on the nose by a dog and had to visit the emergency room and get stitches. Or it could be her grandfather’s influence. Her grandfather, Dick Bonnett, worked on the ambulance at Marcus Daly for about 30 years before retiring.
Isabel did not make any rash decisions. Once she decided to get something for children that were in the emergency room, she and her mom contacted Jennifer Bush, the Emergency Room manager at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, and worked with her on the project. The stuffed toys she decided to buy were not chosen at random. She and her mom examined hundreds of options on the internet and each stuffed animal that she purchased was chosen after careful consideration. She got several small stuffed animals to be used on the ambulance and some larger “pillow pets” that could be used in the ER. The pillow pets can be opened up to serve as a pillow.
The Williams family is from Darby and Isabel attends Mrs. Pelkey’s class at Darby Elementary School.