Little girl with rare disease shatters goal for Medi Teddy IV bag cover
Pure genius.
A young girl with a big idea has crushed a goal and will help hundreds of sick kids in the process.
Ella Casano, a 12-year-old from Fairfield, Connecticut, is the brains behind a genius idea: the Medi Teddy, a stuffed animal pouch that covers and conceals an IV bag. The back of the pouch is mesh, allowing for a doctor or nurse to see through and check on the fluid or medication a child is receiving. From the front, the child sees a friendly face and not the bag of medication, blood product or IV fluid being infused.
Casano originally hoped to raise $5,000 through a GoFundMe page, which would have allowed her to produce 500 Medi Teddys, the minimum number required by the manufacturer to do the job. In just over a week, Ella's page has raised more than $20,000.
Her mom, Meg Casano, told "GMA," "We knew she had a great idea, but we never expected this level of response.
Ella is "excited" about the response to her invention, her mom said. "She's working very hard."
So is her mom.
"It's really been heartwarming to hear such supportive emails from all over the world," she said. "And it's motivating me, personally, to work as hard as I can to make this successful for Ella."
And now, she said, it turns out kids aren't the only ones who are excited about having a Medi Teddy.
"We want to continue to give Medi Teddys away to as many children as we can while also meeting the global demand that we've seen for Medi Teddy for children, adults, and even for pets." Casano said.
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