- April 19, 2024
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When Freya Smith was recovering from surgery at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa, she received “get well” cards made by a local kindergarten class. She said that the cards and the soft toys she received at the hospital made her feel better and encouraged her to keep up with her recovery.
Now, she wants to give back to the hospital that has given so much to her.
Freya’s birth was difficult, and she was starved of oxygen for a small amount of time, her mother Louise recalled while sitting in the office at Imagine School at Town Center, where Freya will begin sixth grade this year. When she was 2 years old, she was diagnosed with a mild case of cerebral palsy. She had MRI scans, and the doctors noticed, when she started to crawl at 9 months, that she wasn’t crawling quite right.
A number of tests were done, and they discovered that one leg was growing faster than the other, and surgery would be needed before her 14th birthday.
One day, when talking to Martha Caldwell at a party, Louise Smith found out about the Shriners Children’s Hospital, which provides care free to children and their families. Local Shriner Wayne Caldwell was happy to sponsor Freya, and, in December 2013, she had her surgery.
Doctors put four plates and eight screws in the growth plate of Freya’s longer leg to slow down the growth.
“We won’t see immediate results,” Louise Smith said. “But by the time she is 18 and fully grown, the legs should be evened out.”
Freya goes back to the hospital every four months for X-rays, and they have already seen a 3-millimeter growth.
The Shriners did so much for Freya and her family that she wanted to pay it back by raising awareness for what the Shriners do.
“A lot of people don’t know that the hospital is there, what they specialize in and the fact that it is no cost to the patient or family,” Louise Smith said. “Nowadays, with insurance difficulties and being stuck financially, it’s important to know they are there and they will cover medical expenses.”
To teach other children about the benefits of the Shriners Hospital, Freya and her mother visited the Imagine School summer program Monday, Aug. 4 with Shriners Asa Cohen and William Laird. With the students, they made “get well” cards to give to patients when Freya returns for her check-up, and also left baskets to collect soft toys and can tabs. The tabs are turned in for money to purchase items for the hospital, such as arts and craft materials and patient supplies.
“I remember when Freya as feeling so bad and it hurt so bad learning to walk again and she saw kids that were really far worse off than she was,” Louise Smith said. “We just wanted to put a smile on their faces.”
The can tab and toy collection will continue through the beginning of the school year.
