Marian Pediatric Ward receives Valentine’s Donation from Local Teen

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Pediatric patients at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria have received some Valentine's Day gifts from a former patient who is now a healthy high school student.

Staying in the hospital for any length of time is never enjoyable no matter how old you are, but it can be particularly unsettling for children or toddlers.

Sophia Ferreira remembers spending a holiday in Marian's pediatric ward when she was four years old.

“I had a rare bacterial infection on my hip and I had to be admitted to the emergency unit and like having surgery,” says the Arroyo Grande High School student.

Dealing with boredom while her friends were enjoying their holiday stands out to Sophia as a significant memory.

“One day somebody donated a frog stuffed animal to me and it made my day. I was so happy and it kept me really preoccupied when it was a really tough time for me,” says Ferreira.

Sophia attends Arroyo Grande High School now and has participated in mercy projects at St. Patrick's Junior High.

“We set a go fund me, we set up Venmo and we generated an email and sent it to family and friends. They had the choice of either buying from Amazon wish lists, things in bulk, or they could donate money and we could buy the things and we would take pictures and show the progress,” says Ferreira.

On Wednesday, she delivered the valentine's packages to the pediatric ward at Marian Regional, so that the patients would have a brighter Valentine's Day.  

“By showing what Sophia has been able to do. Being a junior in high school at such a young age. My hope is that it inspires others to do something similar because when these special donations are made to whether it's our pediatric patients or our or our adult patients, it goes a really long way when the community shows their support for others in need,” says Jessa Brooks, Marian Regional Medical Center’s vice president of philanthropy.

Hospital staff say patients have received the gifts, and there are more packages on hand in case any more patients are admitted soon.

“I feel now that I'm doing it independently with my own time and resources, It makes it more special and personal to me,” says Ferreira.

Hospital staff also mentioned some patients are in isolation, and that Sophia’s gifts have definitely brought them a happy valentine’s day.

If you’re interested in making similar donations to Marian Regional Medical Center, you can find more information by clicking here.