COLUMBIA, S.C. — The family of Faye Swetlik, the six-year-old who was killed last week, has donated stuffed animals from her memorial to the Prisma Health Children's Hospital.
Christy Fink, the manager of Child Life Programs at the hospital, says it was a very selfless thing for the family to bring in the stuffed animals from the memorial for the little girl.
"Faye's grandmother and some family friends came by over the weekend and brought us some stuffed animals from the memorial and we were super thankful to receive those and to be a small part of the grief process for this family," said Fink.
All of the donations are used for the kids to make them feel safer at the hospital. Stuffed animals and colorful blankets are used in the hospital rooms to make it a more comfortable and familiar environment for the children.
"We know that children heal quicker when they're able to be distracted from their treatment and from their pain," explained Fink.
The manager this is the first time they've experienced this type of loss where everyone was in the community was invested in the situation with Faye. The hospital says they're glad to provide a meaningful way for families to remember and honor the six-year-old.
Child Life specialists help prepare, support, and educate patients through diagnosis and treatments. They also help patients deal with what they're going through and allow them to make decisions on what treatment they would like to receive.
At the moment, the children's hospital has 78 beds for patients and they're at full capacity.
The donations given in Faye's honor are still being collected at this time. They're planning on giving out the stuffed animals once they find out the need for each kid.
Fink says it's been great to the see support the Midlands has given the Swetlik family through this tragic situation.
"This community is amazing. We've seen that time and again throughout many things that we've done here at Children's Hospital and I'm super proud of how they've rallied around the Swetlik family," explained Fink. "We're honored to be a small part of that and those donations that come in, in Faye's memory, of course will be passed on to our kids and families here with the knowledge of that."
The children's hospital also says they are mourning with the Swetlik family and they are here for them if the need anything.