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Toys Galore At Children’s Hospital

MAHONING TOWNSHIP — Chances are you’re running around right now, getting those last few holiday gifts on your list, and getting them all wrapped up....
mont toys

MAHONING TOWNSHIP -- Chances are you're running around right now, getting those last few holiday gifts on your list, and getting them all wrapped up. But there are families spending this holiday season in the hospital with a sick child.

At Geisinger Medical Center near Danville, some families who have been there threw a party Thursday and lent a helping hand.

What's normally a quiet hallway was transformed into a holiday wonderland at Janet Weis Children's Hospital in Montour County.

Christmas trees, presents, lunch, dessert, and of course, the big man in red himself. And it all started with a little girl: 6-year-old Audrianna Bartol of Hazleton, who lost her battle with cancer two years ago.

"We thought she was going to beat it, but the second relapse, she just couldn't do it anymore, and we gave her a choice: stay here and fight. She said, 'I'd rather go home and play with my puppy til it's time to go to God.' So that's what we did," said Audrianna's mom Angela Bartol.

When Audrianna herself was a patient a couple of years ago, she was asked what she wanted for Christmas. She said she wanted gifts for all of her friends who were also in the hospital.

And that's where this effort was born.

The Bartol family and two other families who've been in the same situation were on a mission all year collecting toys from their respective communities. They're not just for the children in the hospital. They're for the parents to give to brothers and sisters, too.

"We do all the gift wrapping for them. They each have a personal shopper that helps them. We take everything out to the car for them so they don't have to worry about it at all," said special events coordinator Sarah Hoffman.

The Heim family of Orwigsburg was also happy to be there.

Eddie Heim, 18, has a clean bill of health now but battled leukemia here three years ago.

"We did come every other week for shots and chemo. You just cannot describe it. The only time my son would come up here and smile is when he got a gift for the holidays," said Sandra Heim.

"It's awesome. I know what it feels like to get a gift from strangers. It feels good," added Eddie.

So many smiles, so much Christmas cheer, and Angela Bartol thinks if Audrianna has anything to say about it, it'll get even bigger next year.

"Every year I think, it's so much work, maybe I can't do it this year. But I hear her little voice in my head saying, 'Are you kidding me? It's Christmas! You have to do my toy drive!' So this is what we do."

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