Hug-A-Heart

HUG-AHEART

A group of women at Christian Fellowship Church provide thousands of heart-shaped pillows to Boone Health breast surgery patients.

BY MADISON LOETHEN

Twice a month, a group of women at Christian Fellowship Church in Columbia meet with their sewing machines and get to work. ey sew stu ed heart pillows and seat belt covers for Boone Health patients who recently underwent breast surgery. eir program is called Hug-A-Heart, and they are responsible for donating thousands of pillows to patients. e group was started by Linda McBee in 2017 shortly after she moved to town from Spring eld, Missouri, and began attending church at Christian Fellowship.

“I was involved in this kind of ministry in my church in Spring eld, and I wanted to bring it here,” Linda says. “I lost two very dear friends to breast cancer and I’m a cancer survivor myself. I came to the church and showed them what I did. I told them I’d like to bring this to Christian Fellowship, so they posted it on the website, and little by little, women started coming to help.”

Anne Petersen, MD of Boone Health General Surgery, has found the pillows to be very helpful to her patients. “I really love the Hug-A-Heart program,” she says. “ e pillows are provided for patients who undergo any type of breast surgery, both men and women, and also occasionally after surgery for melanoma where we’re working across the chest or in

A Hug-A-Heart volunteer sews pillows and seat belt covers.

the armpit area. It provides something for extra comfort for positioning. It also lets our patients know that there are people who care about them and want them to feel taken care of and supported through their journey.”

Linda says she is thrilled with how her program has taken o and with how many people it has helped. She’s also quick to tell you that she’d be nowhere without her fabulous group of ladies.

“ ey’re very special,” she says. “ ey’re very dedicated. ey seldom miss a meeting. ey bring their sewing machines and get to work. ey’re special to me and they’ve become very good friends.”

Outside of the Hug-A-Heart program, there are a couple other groups that work to provide comfort to breast surgery patients. e Healing Chair of Columbia delivers and loans reclining lift chairs to patients’ homes after they undergo a mastectomy. Knotted Knockers provides soft, homemade knit prosthetics for women after a mastectomy. Dr. Petersen herself knits some of these prosthetics. Cleaning For A Reason provides two free home cleanings for patients in active cancer treatments.

Patients can nd information about all of these programs at their Boone Health General Surgery appointments.

Hear from Linda McBee and Dr. Petersen on YouTube at YouTube.com/boonehealth.

Christian Fellowship Church Hug-A-Heart members meet twice a month.

Group members stuff seat belt covers.

Linda McBee, a breast cancer survivor herself, started the Hug-A-Heart program at Christian Fellowship Church.