The Gift of Life shows love one bear at a time

Rosie Moore’s son Kaleb was born 13 weeks early on Oct. 13, 2009.

Born 1 pound, 10 ounces and 12 inches long, Kaleb stayed in the neonatal unit for five months — which meant he was in the hospital through the holidays. 

Now 6 years old, Kaleb returns to Florida Hospital at Christmastime to deliver gifts to families with preemies. 

It’s part of Moore’s nonprofit, The Gift of Life, which supports families who have a child born prematurely. 

Each year, the nonprofit takes handmade teddy bears and hats to local hospitals, specifically Florida Hospital. Kaleb gets to say hello to the nurses who cared for him when he was a preemie.

Moore started bringing gifts to the hospital after she received a gift when Kaleb was in the hospital.

She had two other children, and she was balancing where to spend her time that Christmas. An anonymous person gave her a gift with an umbrella, book and rattle. The person included a card that read, “We’re thinking about you during this difficult time, and we’re praying for your little miracle.”

“Those words stayed with me because I thought, ‘Somebody actually cared to send something,’” she said. 

In the years that followed, she started by bringing cookies to hospital staff. But as she began to connect with other parents who were in the hospital with their children during Christmas, she found that they felt the same way she did when Kaleb was in the hospital. It was challenging to be in the hospital with your premature infant during Christmas.

“Everyone is celebrating baby’s first Christmas, and your family, and it’s supposed to be a joyous occasion,” Moore said. “And you don’t want to be sad because you want to be supportive for your family, whether it’s the grandparents or other children or your friends or brothers and sisters. ... That might be your exterior, but deep down inside you’re longing for your baby to be home.”

Moore decided that the parents needed emotional support during Christmas.  

She found a senior citizen group in Kissimmee through Good Samaritan Village that knitted and crocheted teddy bears. They were looking for a way to get the bears out in the community. 

So in 2012, Moore began taking the bears to families of preemies in the hospital. 

As Moore is gearing up to do her Christmas visit this year, she is looking for more people who are willing to crochet and knit bears and hats, with bears being the greater need.

“The parents receive these bears and are overwhelmed with joy,” Moore said. 

Store-bought bears don’t send the same message that homemade ones do, Moore said. 

“It’s not the same as someone making it with love. (The families) know it was made by someone who actually cares,” she said. “(The knitters) don’t know who it’s going to, but in their hearts they’re saying, ‘We’re making this with love.’”

The bears are known as love bears. 

The Gift of Life has a pattern for the bears as well as a video on how to make the bear. The original pattern called for the bears to be 8 to 9 inches, but The Gift of Life asks that the bears be 6 to 7 inches to accommodate preemies.

The time it takes to make a bear varies on skill level, but it takes about three hours for someone who has never done it before. Those with skill and experience can complete the bear in just over an hour. 

There is also a Facebook group for people who are knitting for The Gift of Life where knitters exchange ideas. 

This year, The Gift of Life is delivering the bears on Dec. 21. Each year, based on the hospital’s needs, delivering the gifts looks different for the nonprofit. In 2013, they asked Moore to go in and speak to a few mothers who were with their babies. Last year, they placed the gifts around a Christmas tree in the hospital lobby.

Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].