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Neighborhood report

Kids show they care with bears

An art teacher has students carry on a warm and fuzzy tradition, one that comforted her during her own bout with breast cancer.

By ELISABETH DYER
Published January 27, 2006

It started with a stuffed bear, light brown and wearing pink plaid with a purple flower tucked under its paw.

Pat Knowlton, an art teacher at Mitchell Elementary School, had tucked the bear under her arm after having a mastectomy at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center on the last day of school last May. The soft bear would ease the pressure off her wound and remind her that other people care.

A Moffitt support group for breast cancer patients, Fighting Against Cancer Together, gives the bears to patients after surgery, along with information and links to support.

Knowlton was inspired. When she returned to Mitchell this fall, she got her students involved. They traced patterns, glued fabric, and decorated bears with fabric and buttons donated by parents and friends.

In all, they made 60 bears and 500 cards and gift bags for breast cancer patients.

Last week, Moffitt repaid the favor with ice cream treats for the entire school.

While making the bears this fall, the students didn't know about Knowlton's breast cancer.

"I didn't want it to be all about me," she said.

But she did tell them how patients might feel when they came out of surgery.

"They'd be scared," said 8-year-old Natalia Alessi, who colored smiley faces on a gift bag. "I wanted to make something nice so they'll be happy."

Ten-year-old Luke Collins crafted a blue vest for his bear, which he named Bill. Lara Herzog, also 10, named hers Cookie.

"It was a sad day when I gave up Cookie," Lara said. "I spent so much time loving it, but I felt really good giving to a good cause."

Students learned to cut patterns symmetrically and wrote stories about their bears. "I wanted them to learn that you don't have to know somebody to make a difference in their lives," Knowlton said.

Throughout their hard work, Knowlton fought her own battles.

"She's had heavy chemo on Fridays, and she's here every Monday," said Joanne Baumgartner, Mitchell principal. "She's been extremely inspirational."

At school, Knowlton kept things as normal as possible, starting each class with a request for a smile from each student. She hadn't dreamed the cancer - detected during a routine mammogram - would ever happen to her. Staying home during the chemotherapy treatments, dwelling on the negatives, wasn't an option, she said.

"Kids are great therapy."

So is her bear. First she slept with it. Now it stays on a nightstand "so if I need a hug, he would be close by," she told 9-year-old Maddie Fialla as the fourth-grader finished her chocolate ice cream bar.

Maddie decorated her bear with buttons and hearts. She named it Bethie, after one of the sisters in Little Women, which she had just finished reading.

"When I was making the card I wanted to share that I was sending the bear with love," she said.

The card reads:

Dear Patient, I know you're scared, so here's a poem from me and your bear. Since we care, don't have a scare, cause we're giving you a bear.

-Elisabeth Dyer can be reached at edyer@sptimes.com or 813 226-3321.

More than 60 patients a month receive a "We Care" bear after breast surgery at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. To sponsor a bear for $10 or to decorate a bear, e-mail FACTors@Moffitt.usf.edu or call 813 903-4613.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 08:57:08]