There’s nothing worse than finding out you have cancer, unless you’re a child and have to be in isolation in a hospital. That’s the life that Maga Barzallo Sockemtickem currently finds herself in. Maga is only 16 years old and is a cancer patient in Seattle Children’s Hospital. She has been confined to her hospital room for almost a month now, separated from her family and friends, while undergoing post-bone marrow transplant treatment. Her family includes her cat, Merry, who she misses terribly and would give anything to see.
According to the hospital’s On The Pulse blog, Maga has spent more than seven months at Children’s in 2011 waiting for a compatible bone marrow donor. Now that she has finally undergone the transplant, she has to remain in the oncology unit in isolation to prevent risks to her immune system.
In an effort to reduce the emotional pain Maga was feeling from being removed from her loyal family member, Merry, Seattle Children’s Hospital staff asked Facebook fans to send in pictures of their favorite pets. What they got in response was outstanding — 3,000 responses!
Once every last one of the 3,000 pictures were sorted through by hospital staff, the cat photos were combined with purring sounds to create a slideshow for Maga. Take a look at Maga experiencing the “Cat Immersion” project for the first time:
Here’s what Maga had to say after she watched her cat project: “You guys remind me that there is so much good in the world, and its just makes me feel so much better, and connected. I can’t tell you how it feels sometimes, feeling disconnected and cut off from the world, and then with something like cat pictures bringing me back. Thank you all for your kind words, and well wishing. It means more then you can ever know. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you…”
