From Left to Right: Tricia Merriam, Revenue Cycle Manager, Infusion, Cooper Cancer Institute and Meghan Vizzard, 12, Sixth Grade Student at Hartford School in Mt. Laurel.
When her nineteen-year-old cousin Katie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2011, Meghan Vizzard of Mount Laurel wanted to make her a gift that would provide some comfort to her once she began her treatment. It was a handmade fleece blanket that Katie used every day during her nine week course of chemotherapy.
“I’ve made blankets for other friends that have been sick, and I just hoped that in some way this would help her get through those long days of treatment,” said Meghan. “Katie liked it so much that she asked me to help her make a blanket for a friend that she met during her treatment.”
The two girls teamed up, and so began the idea of Project Cozies for Chemo. Since then, with the help of her friends, family and local community, Meghan has raised more than $1,200 to make blankets to donate for others going through the same kind of treatment as her cousin had. On Monday, April 9, 2012, Meghan visited the Cooper Cancer Institute in Voorhees to bring the donated blankets to patients.
Today, Katie is cancer free.