Aria's Pride,
With much anticipation, on December 8th, Aria's Library was officially launched. It marks the start of one of our inagural programs, aimed at providing books for children of all ages. The idea was spearheaded by Aria's grandma, Kim Ryan, who worked with Leroy and Karri Blankenship to create the library. The library currently sits in the PICU waiting room at Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC.
The program aims to continuously provide books to help entertain patients and their families in the hospital. We launched the library with just over 200 books for all ages. This program is near and dear to our hearts because of the love our daughter, Aria, had for reading books. Nightime book reads were always a highlight of our day and she was happy to have books read to her all day. She would either have a big grin on her face or lean in and very politely give whatever animal showed up on the page a kiss. We would love to be able to share her spirit and love for books with other families spending time in the hospital.
Above are some pictures from the ceremony. A lot of family showed up and, of course, we had the help from some of Aria's favorite nurses and child life specialists! Finally, we have Aria's favorite book, "You're My Little Cuddle Bug," which was her staple bedtime book. We are looking forward to restocking the library, as more and more patients get to enjoy some of Aria's books.
Thanks to all that helped this project get started,
Mike Ryan
Aria's Dad
Aria's Pride Vice President and Board Member
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