Young patient presents toys to hospitalized children

Roanoke, Virginia – For 7-year-old Abby Dudley, who was born with cerebral palsy, frequent hospital stays are nothing new.

She understands what it’s like to be in the hospital during the holidays, having had numerous treatments at Carilion Children’s Hospital, including a brain operation only last week.

Because of this, Abby and her family are bringing toys that she gathered from the neighborhood to other kids and families at Carilion to convey the holiday spirit.

They delivered nine cartons of donated toys on Monday.

According to hospital doctors and nurses, families like the Dudleys are what make Christmas memorable for kids going through a difficult period.

Sarah Kress, a child life specialist, stated, “It means the world to all of us that the Dudleys want to give back after they have been seen at their facility. It’s so touching not only to see their face this time of year, but to hear their kind words of support.”

Trista Dudley, Abby’s mother, claims that her daughters even used their own funds to purchase some of the gifts.

They said, “I bet a kid would like this one and this one,” because they were so thrilled about it. “It’s amazing to see how generous they were to purchase toys for other children,” Trista added.

Additionally, according to Abby’s mother, Carilion accepts donations of toys and gifts for kids all year long, even though they gave the toys for Christmas.