Boo's Bear Gets A Heart

Once there was a little girl with curly blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was very special because she was born with a broken heart. Now this was not the kind of broken heart that comes from feeling sad or lonely or unloved. For she was loved very very much. Her heart was simply broken, and did not work the way most hearts did. Because of this, she was very tired and breathless most of the time and she could not keep up with the other children her age. She couldn't run or even cry without becoming tired and short of breath.

The Doctors had to find a way to fix her broken heart. They told her parents it would be a long, dangerous and painful task. There would be many surgeries and many days spent in the hospital recovering from those surgeries. Her grandma said she had a lot of boo boos, and simply began to call her "Boo". The very first time Boo had to go to the hospital, her grandma brought her a little brown teddy bear to cuddle with.

When Boo woke up from her first surgery, she found her bear tucked in next to her with a big bandage on his ribs, just like her bandage. When she peeked beneath his bandages she saw stitches just like hers. Grandma said he was her Boo Bear and that he would be with her every step of the way as the Doctors tried to fix her heart.

Every time Boo went to the hospital, so did Boo Bear. And every time she woke up he carried the same scars she did. She knew that he understood how bad it hurt and how hard it was to heal from each surgery. She knew that each time meant they were one step closer to being healed.

When Boo was six years old, the Doctors said it was time to go inside her heart and fix it for good. She was so excited. "Will I be able to keep up with the other first graders when I wake up?" she asked. "Yes" the doctors promised. "This time we will fix your heart for good."

On that special day, Boo took Boo bear with her in her suitcase, but she was worried. She asked grandma, "How will they fix Boo bear's heart, because he has no heart? He is only a teddy bear. I want him to be just like me. How will they do that?" Grandma simply said, " Sleep sweet Boo. I will find a heart for bear, and he will be with you when you wake up. He will have a brand new heart just like you. I promise."

While Boo slept and grandma waited for her to awaken from the surgery, a very special friend went searching high and low for a heart for Boos bear. This friend was Aunt Susan. She knew grandma was worried and couldn't look for a bear heart, so she searched instead. What she found was a beautiful crystal heart shaped pendant which captured the rays of the sun and created rainbows wherever it went. She hurried to give this heart to Boos grandma hoping it would be the perfect heart for Boos bear.

And it was! Grandma hung the heart shaped crystal on a fine chain and placed it around Boo Bears neck. At last he had a heart. Now grandma prayed that Boo would awaken from surgery with a heart as pure and radiant as bears secret crystal heart.

Many hours passed. Boo slept a long time and her grandma waited and worried. Then the Doctor appeared and said the surgery had gone perfectly. Boos heart had been fixed. She would be happy and healthy and able to keep up with her friends for the first time in her life.

Grandma cried and laughed at the same time. Then she gave Boos bear with his crystal heart to one of the nurses and asked that bear be taken into the recovery room to sleep with her precious Boo.

When Boo awoke, it hurt a lot. More than ever before and she began to cry. But then the nurse placed her bear in her arms and said, "Look, your bear has a new heart and he is fixed just like you are. You will both be able to laugh and run like all of your friends." Boo held her bear close and she knew he understood everything. He hurt like she did, but he was happy like she was because finally he had a new heart. She couldn't wait to tell grandma.