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Any
motorist who drove through Cherokee County during the last dozen or so months
will remember roadside signs with a simple message, “Pray for Hannah.”
Hannah
was Hannah Collie of Alto, a brave
little girl who touched the hearts of thousands of people while her own heart
struggled to keep her alive.
Her laughing eyes and quick smile left a
remarkable legacy, not only in Cherokee County, but in East
Texas and Dallas.
Regrettably,
Hannah lost her battle and passed away in September of 2009.
But each
December, on the eighth floor of the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas,
where Hannah was a cardiac patient, thousands of children’s toys swamp the floor
as people respond to a request by Hannah’s parents, Jason and Amanda Collie, who
started the “Hannah’s Heart Toy Drive.”
This year, the Collie family drove
more than $2,200 worth of toys donated by people during one of the worst economic
recessions in recent history.
The gifts were piled so high in the Collie’s
SUV that they could barely see out of the back window.
For one family,
that of Terrie Gonzalez, a writer for the Rusk Cherokeean-Herald, Hannah’s heart
troubles brought back personal memories. Her own child Chris underwent a six-hour
surgery at Children’s Medical Center to repair a thoracic birth defect.
Two
days before Chris’ surgery, he was taken to a toy room next to the recovery room
and asked to pick out a special toy which would be waiting or him after he awoke
from surgery.
Chris picked out a toy car and asked for it as soon as he
awoke from his surgery.
Today, little Red Wagons are used to deliver toys
donated in Hannah’s memory throughout the hospital. They are also used to transmit
children to treatment rooms. Kids would much rather ride in a red wagon than a
wheel chair.
Bob Bowman's East
Texas
April 4, 2011 Column.
A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers
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