Hannah Kiresuk receives her monthly intravenous chemotherapy on Friday. The treatment to combat an aggressive form of the muscular degenerative disease, myasthenia gravis, is rough enough for the 20-year-old from Roseville.
But enduring the morning without Hammy by her side will be especially painful.
Hammy the Cow is a stuffed animal the young woman has owned and cherished since creating him at a State Fair Build-A-Bear workshop 10 years ago. He's been with her through 300 days in the hospital, 30 surgeries and countless doctor appointments.
Yes, she knows that "it seems kind of silly for a 20-year-old to want to have a stuffed animal," said her mom, Teri Kiresuk, an occupational health specialist at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. "But that distraction is what helps her survive."
Hannah thinks Hammy fell out of her backpack somewhere in the Minneapolis skyway system between Target Center and Mayo Square on Sunday, Feb. 28. Hannah and her dad, Alex, were on their way to Kieran's Irish Pub to attend a fundraiser for Hannah's much needed bone marrow transplant. Her family has posted pictures of Hannah and Hammy on Facebook (Team Hannah's Courage), created posters and reached out to the media.
Hammy won't be hard to identify. The little softy has several scars, hearing aids, a "trache" tube, blood pressure cuff and an oxygen mask. He wears a hat, gown and glasses. In short, he's got pretty much everything Hannah has.
"He's a cute little cow," Teri said.
The surgical scars and loving touches are courtesy of Healing Helpers, (healinghelpers147.com), an Idaho-based nonprofit that brings comfort to children and young adults dealing with medical challenges by creating stuffed animals that duplicate their scars. Hannah found the organization online and has sent Hammy to Healing Helpers three times. In addition, she organized a high school charitable drive where she collected 300 stuffed animals for the organization.
