In Hartford Connecticut, 12-year-old Emma Becker has been fighting the brave fight against cancer for the last four years.
Her condition: Neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes growths of tumors to develop right on nerve endings and in Emma’s case, on her optic nerves and brain stem. For more information on neurofibromatosis, click here.
The chemotherapy has been ongoing for the last two years after Emma began to go blind in both eyes.
Emma has grown popular among the other children patients at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. After long hours of chemotherapy, she passes the time by collecting a plethora of quirky socks of all colors, brands and shapes. This little professional sock hoarder is making quite an impression among hospital staff and patients alike, with her colorful new hobby.
During her birthday, she used Facebook as a means of donating socks to her fellow patients to keep their feet warm from the freezing hospital conditions. Rather than asking for gifts, she asked the world of Facebook to donate their socks to her. An outpour of love flooded in, as she began to receive packages of socks that added up to 23,00 in total. These socks sported the likes of Batman, minions, The Flash and even Frozen’s Elsa and Ana.
Her mother Rebecca Donkor said:
“When she’s admitted to the hospital it’s always cold in the room to prevent germs. If you ask for a pair of socks from the hospital, they are big and bulky and not pretty. So she figured socks would bring conversations and smiles.”
She didn’t stop at socks. Emma went on to donate 12,000 containers of Play-Doh, along with hundreds of iTunes gift cards to her home hospital.
Emma’s bright smile will make you smile and her positivity toward her situation is contagious. She said she wishes to continue spreading joy across the world in whatever way she can.
