ST PAUL, Minn. — After a pandemic hiatus, Children’s Minnesota’s Holiday Toy Shop is back in Saint Paul for families who have a little one in the hospital.
The service is free for families and is made possible through donations.
It gives busy parents an opportunity to skip the busy stores.
Phyllis Strong is a volunteer for Children’s Minnesota, where her duties range from comforting NICU babies to wrapping presents at the Holiday Toy Shop.
“When you have a little one in the hospital it's a stressful time,” said Strong. “You don't have time to go Christmas shopping.”
Danielle Beauvais and Kyle Poeschel appreciate the convenience. They haven’t had much time to pick up presents.
“William was born on June 4 of this year, he was 23 weeks old,” said Beauvais “So we've been here quite a while.”
“He about the size of a pound of butter,” said Poeschel.
Little William has been in Children’s NICU since. His parents live two hours away in Wisconsin.
“I was going to work every day and tried to split up the week just to get up here for two, three hours a night and then drive back at four o'clock in the morning to go back to work the next day,” said Poeschel. “It was It was rough. And then this happened.”
In November, Poeschel was in a car crash.
“I just went through a stop sign,” he said. “And ended up in the field with two fractured vertebrae.”
“It's a lot to go through,” said Beauvais. “So there was, I mean, there was a point in time where we weren't sure if he was coming home with us.”
They’ve had hardships this year, but they’ve counted just as many blessings. They said they have the hospital to thank for that.
“It's amazing how many people out there just do things nice for people they don't know,” said Beauvais.
“We look at him and we're just like, how are you even the same little baby?” she said.
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