We were recently contacted by one of the pediatric patients, Natalie, that benefitted from our pediatric therapeutic pillows following her open-heart surgery. She wished to share her story to help reassure any other kids who will be undergoing similar surgery. Of course, sharing patient testimonials is one of our favorite things to do so we were more than happy to help spread the word!

My name is Natalie MacCoy I go to school in West Greenwich R.I, and I had to go to Boston Children’s Hospital for open-heart surgery this past April. It was super scary, but everyone was so kind. A couple of months ago my mom and I were looking for a website to post my story. Nothing. Until I looked at my pillow and found a website, and I am feeling good about hopefully getting a response about my story.

I want other kids to know that going into surgery is just like a long nap. When you wake up it’s just the boring waiting game. I felt no pain after my chest tube came out which takes literally a second or two. I also want other kids to feel calm. Of course, you will never ever be fully calm until it’s all done. I had to get surgery for a Subaortic Stenosis. I felt lonely because it was in the middle of COVID-19, one of my best friends was distance learning and the other two were in a different class. So that was all that was on my mind, and nobody else would understand me.

I want to thank this website for letting my story be passed around. If any child needs open-heart surgery they are STRONGER and braver than they realize. So don’t be nervous.

Written by,
Natalie MacCoy

Shumsky Therapeutic Pillows would like to say a big thank you to Natalie for reaching out to us and sharing her story for the benefit of future pediatric patients. Stories like yours are the reason we do what we do!

All of us here at Shumsky Therapeutic Pillows understand that going through major surgery is extremely challenging for anyone, but it is even more difficult for children. This is a big reason why we created our line of pediatric therapeutic pillows to provide some extra comfort throughout the surgery recovery process. Get in touch with us today to see how your hospital can start offering extra support for some of your youngest patients!