Hospital creates 'Cat Immersion Project' for homesick cancer patient

Seattle Children's Hospital's oncology unit has brought smiles to the face of cat lover with a new project.



Maga Barzallo Sockemtickem, 16, has been confined to her hospital room for nearly a month while undergoing post-bone marrow transplant treatment. The thing she misses most? Her cat, Merry.

So Seattle Children's asked Facebook fans to send in pictures of their favourite pets - and received 3,000 photos in response. The hospital staff then combined the cat photos with purring sounds to create a slideshow for the teenage cancer patient.


YouTube link.

It's not unusual for cancer patients to be placed in isolation for months at a time due to their compromised immune systems. "I can't tell you how it feels sometimes, feeling disconnected and cut off from the world, and then with something like cat pictures bringing me back," Sockemtickem said. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."