On Thursday 02/02/2023 four volunteers from Fly Fishers at the Crossing met at Children’s Hospital for a special event for some of the patients at BJC. We were met at the security desk by Melody DeWeese who is the Special Events Coordinator at the hospital. After checking in and being issued clearance name tags, Keaton Keenum, Mike Oldani, Will Black and Steve Baker were escorted to the Patient Activities Room on the eighth floor, where we set up our fly tying vices and materials. We met a few of the patient nurse assistants and shared with them what we would be doing for the children. The nurse assistants were excited when they learned we would be tying a pin for them as well. At the activities room we proceeded to tie colorful arrangements of feathers on the safety pins while waiting for the patients to join us. Upon arrival they would sit with us and were allowed to pick out the colors and the different types of feathers they wanted us to create their special pin with. The smiles on their faces as they receive their new feather pins is what makes it all worth while. It is truly amazing the interesting conversations you can have with these young children and the positive attitudes they display while in recovery at the hospital.

As usual, the time goes by quickly when you are participating in something this enjoyable. It was nice that we were able to leave about a dozen feather pins for any patients who were not able to come to the activity room. As we were cleaning up our mess and saying farewell to the patients and their aids, I find myself reflecting on having the opportunity to participate in events like this. I am very grateful for belonging to an organization like Fly Fishers at the Crossing.

If you have a desire to contribute some of your time to help lift the spirits of others, keep your eyes on the Team-Up Calendar for similar events like this at Children’s Hospital.