Whether we’re parents or not, most of us can’t abide seeing a child in need with nobody to support them.
Not only is that why there are no shortage of inspiring stories about everyday people stepping in to make a difference for a child in a tough situation, but it’s also why those stories spread as far and wide as they do.
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But those stories can also make it easy to forget how resourceful children can be when the people in their lives need help too. And some kids have proven that in a major way with the loving acts they’ve shown when their siblings are born prematurely or end up diagnosed with cancer .
Furthermore, one story from upstate New York illustrates that the heartwarming actions of the little ones in our lives can be just as powerful for an ailing adult as a troubled child.
Growing up, Sophie Enderton of Newfane, New York had a very close relationship with her grandfather, Terry.
As her mom Jillian told Good Morning America, he would always drive her to and from school in his red Corvette and could be counted on to attend her softball and soccer games.
In her words, “She just loves the time they really spent together. She says he was one of her best friends and he was there for everything.”
But sadly, this meant that Enderton saw his struggles firsthand when he spent his last days battling pancreatic cancer.
She noticed this seemed particularly hard when he had to undergo chemotherapy for hours at a time, which eventually gave her the idea to put together thoughtful care bags for him and others in his situation.
With the help of Jillian and her maternal grandparents, Enderton would put these “chemo bags” together and provide comforting items like blankets (some of which were knitted by her great-grandmother), socks, pillows, ginger candies, mints, and soups. She later added games like playing cards and checkers sets.
And while the first of these bags went to Terry, Enderton also set nine others aside for patients at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo.
And as word of her gesture spread in her family’s community, they started to receive donations from friends and neighbors.
This not only made the gifts inside of her bags more robust, but the donations also ensured that she’d be able to distribute more chemo bags in December.
Sadly, Terry would pass away that month, but Enderton was still determined to continue what she was doing and is planning to send more bags out when his birthday rolls around this March.
She also added five bags during her December giveaways that were specifically earmarked for children with cancer.
As Jillian said, “She wanted to do some for kids because she doesn’t think it’s fair that they have to go be sick so she wanted to brighten their day too.”
At the same time, Jillian believes her daughter’s work is also helping her grieve by putting her energy into something that fulfills her.
As she put it, “We just want to keep it going and do grandpa proud.”
h/t: Good Morning America
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