Sometimes the positive messages we need come to us from the most unexpected places.
Meyer Mixdorf of Arkansas was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a form of childhood brain cancer. Part of his treatment included spending over six long weeks at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, to receive a stem cell transplant.
There’s only so much for a 5-year-old to do in a small hospital room, so Meyer’s family began decorating his window with Post-it Note art to cheer him up. One day, a group of “mystery friends” across the street from the hospital noticed his masterpieces and decorated their own window in response.
The neighboring artists turned out to be staff members at another hospital, Truman Medical Centers. Employee Johnna Schindlbeck said they were “just doing something fun.”
“I was just kind of looking out the window and there was a little Post-it Note smiley face up there,” she said. “I thought it was cute and grabbed some notes and put up a little winky face.”
“There are children over there, and I don’t know what they’re going through, and if I can make them smile a little bit, that’s all that mattered,” added Cheryl Grey, a fellow Truman Medical Centers employee.
Meyer was delighted by their reply and got right to work making more sticky note art. Soon, they were exchanging murals on their separate eighth-floor windows every single day.
“Every morning he would hop out of bed. As soon as someone would switch them, he knew,” said Meyer’s mom, Liz Mixdorf. “Other patients on the floor enjoyed them as well.”
Dozens of Post-it masterpieces later, Meyer finally finished his treatment and was ready to head home. After all those weeks of interaction, he put up a simple goodbye note for his mystery friends: “C-U later, thanks.”
The employees across the street were able to meet little Meyer before he traveled home to Arkansas. Meyer’s family was thrilled to get to know the strangers who helped them through such a difficult time, and the feeling was mutual.
“It was really neat meeting him and to hug [Liz] and just know what it meant,” Johnna said. “It’s something I’ll never forget for sure.”
Meyer is not out of the woods yet, but his family hopes for more clean scans in the coming weeks. Let’s send some extra love to this budding artist as he recovers from his treatment!
Share this story to wish Meyer a full recovery.
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