Due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Dysautonomia, MCAS, and a host of other medical issues, Lydia Brown knows what it's like to spend Christmas in a hospital bed.
The 16-year-old spent the majority of her childhood on the pediatric floor at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine.
That's why, for four years straight, Brown has donated Christmas presents to kids on the pediatric floor. She calls it the Lydia Project.
In an interview with local television outlet WABI TV, Brown said that she donated over 800 presents this Christmas, making it her “most successful year” yet.
“Every year, I try to make it as big as I can,” she said. “I donate almost anything you can think of, whether it’s needed, not needed, for fun, not for fun, anything that a family member might need or a patient, I try to donate it.”
Brown said that most of the gifts come from neighbors in her community, and she and her mom take care of the rest. The goal is to make sure no children go without a gift on Christmas Day.
“I’ve spent almost my entire life in and out of the hospital for many different medical reasons, and so was my younger brother,” Brown said.
“And whenever I was in the hospital, it was really nice to have a nurse come and be like, we have this craft for you, or you want some comfy PJs, or, you know, we have this cute water bottle, you know, you can take it home with you.”
“And I think about that a lot because, I mean, I still have some of that stuff from when I was like nine,” Brown said.
Although Brown can’t be there in person to give the gifts herself, she said that it’s enough to know that she’s making a positive impact.
“Coming from a person that was in that situation, it makes me happy,” she said.
To support the Lydia Project and follow future updates, you can visit her Facebook page.
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Header image via Pix4free / Lydia Brown / Facebook
