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Family donates suncatchers to St. Cloud Hospital in memory of son
At CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital, patients are getting the gift of light from the Moorefield family. On Thursday, Rachel, Steve, Bella, and Myley Moorefield gave more than 300 suncatchers from their business, Eternal Rainbows, to the hospital.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (FOX 9) - At CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital, patients are getting the gift of light from the Moorefield family.
On Thursday, Rachel, Steve, Bella, and Myley Moorefield gave more than 300 suncatchers from their business, Eternal Rainbows, to the hospital.
It's a passion project they started after losing the light of their lives in 2018. Each suncatcher is made to remember and honor their son, Isaiah, who lost his battle with depression by suicide at the age of 19.
"We struggled a lot with grieving and what to do in the life after," said Rachel. "It's been very important for us to share Isaiah as much as possible. We want more than anything to have him back, but this is as close as we can get, so we'll take it."
In 2020, the family donated suncatchers to those being treated for COVID-19 at CentraCare. The next year, they donated to their oncology patients.
Thursday's gift was their last one in St. Cloud before their family moves out of state.
Being diagnosed with a serious illness can be a scary and isolating time.
"It's a lot of fear and a lot of unknown and sometimes, they have to wait quite a while before they get answers," said oncology nurse Kara Panek.
"The past couple years have been super tough with COVID-19 and the visitor restrictions, especially for our cancer patients," said oncology nurse Laura Tokkesdal.
But throughout that difficult journey, Isaiah's spirit and his memory are shining for all to see through the heart of this hospital.
"(It's a bright light...happiness. (It) gives them a sense of hope that someone is thinking about them," said Tokkesdal.