Our Story
What inspired me to make Brave Gowns? More than 3 million children are hospitalized in the United States. Every 33 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer and that's just one reason that children are admitted to the hospital. Twelve years ago on Halloween, my family became one of those statistics. Little did we know we were about to be faced with the fight of our lives. My brother, my only sibling, was only 10 years-old. I was 15 years-old older than him. We went from an office visit directly to the fight of our lives that ended up with us spending over a year in the hospital. I wish my story had a happy ending and I can tell you that my brother lived, but he is in heaven. He fought a battle that they said was impossible, but he beat it. In the end, he went to heaven due to a medical error. My favorite memory of our journey was the following year once again on Halloween. My brother was in the PICU (Pediactric Intensive Care Unit) and couldn't go Trick or Treating. He was laying there in a dingy pale yellow hospital gown that looked like it had been washed hundreds of times. There was nothing festive about it. It did not represent his personality or the holiday that he so loved! So I painted his face like a zombie. We were laughing so hard while I was painting it. Life felt a bit "normal" during this horrible time, but then we got in so much trouble! His skin practically peeled off, but all I could see behind it was his smile! He was so happy. Around Halloween of this year, I saw a picture of my friend's daughter that is now going through treatment and she was posing in her gown with a caption that read, "Maya trying to rock her blah hospital gown before her spinal tap!" That's when the idea of Brave Gowns hit me. Hospital gowns make you feel like just a number. They do not reflect these children's personalities. They do not bring hope! I knew we could do better!
What is a Brave Gown? A Brave Gown is a gown that a child will wear when going through a treatment that scares them, a horrible shot, a spinal tap, an MRI, an x-ray, a long hospital stay or just a moment that they need to feel BRAVE! One of the biggest reasons kids love superheroes is the sense of control and power they have on the world. For superheroes, anything is possible. We want children in the hospital fighting even the toughest disease, to put forth their best fight and conquer what battle they're fighting. Whether a child's favorite superhero is Batman, Superman or Cinderella while wearing a "Brave Gown" they will believe that can take on any illness!
Brave Gowns are hospital gowns that are screen printed like costumes and make children feel brave! When a child walks in to a room for a procedure and they get asked what their favorite character is, they will get to choose which "Brave Gown" to wear. Mickey Mouse, Batman, Superman, a pumpkin, Elf, Princess, a musician, a cheerleader, etc...anything that represents a piece of the child's personality! No more dingy pastel gowns that make these kids feel hopeless. Children will feel in control and strong like Superman, happy like Mickey Mouse or cool as a cucumber like their favorite rockstar!
Children have very limited control in their daily lives and especially when going through treatment for an illness. Becoming a superhero will allow them to access some sense of power during this scary time.
