EV’s Bears for Boo Boos: Paying it forward, 1 bear hug at a time

Evie Garrett was 9 years old when she was admitted to Peterson Regional Medical Center for an infected growth plate in her heel.

During her stay at PRMC, she received a Build-a-Bear stuffed bear donated by students at Covenant Academy in Kerrville.

Build-a-Bear Workshop outlets allow kids to participate in the process of assembling their own stuffed animal.

“I named her Babs, and realized I felt super loved and safe with her,” Garrett said. “When I got out of the hospital, I was talking to my family and decided I wanted to pay it forward to all the other kids.”

Garrett and her family developed a program called EV’s Bears for Boo Boos, which provides bears that are assembled and distributed by the Garrett family to sick children.

For the past nine years, the family has been able to build and donate 1,500 bears to children.

“Babs has gone with me to every surgery, every X-ray and every MRI,” Garrett said. “She’s been a great comfort.”

After Garrett’s initial stay at PRMC, she was transported to Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, where complications arose from a local infection and a debridement was performed to remove dead bone tissue.

During the procedure, a piece of living bone was nicked, and when the body tried to repair it naturally, a bone spur developed that grew into Garrett’s Achilles’ tendon, causing debilitating pain.

“If it had to happen to one of my kids, I’m glad it was Evie, because she’s got such a fighting spirit,” said Garrett’s mother, Amanda.

Garrett continues to battle with the regrowth of bone spurs, and in April had surgery to detach her Achilles’ in order to clean up scar tissue, reshape her heel bone and remove calcaneus spurs.

So far, Garrett has had 34 surgeries, continues to do physical therapy and has an appointment in February to check up on any new bone spur growth.

Garrett will graduate high school in May, and she plans to continue to pay it forward as she enters the Schreiner University nursing program in the fall.

“I just want to be an RN, but I’m not sure what I want to specialize in,” she said. “Maybe cardiology.”

Garrett is a certified EKG tech and is in the process of getting her phlebotomy and CNA certifications.

She funds the Build-a-Bear toys through monetary donations from the community.

“This is such a great way to kick off Christmas,” said Tim Rye, Peterson Health’s chief strategic development officer. “We’re thankful for what Evie and her family do. She’s such an awesome kid.”

To donate to EV’s Bears for Boo Boos, contact the program through email at evsbearsforbooboos@gmail.com or instagram @evs_bears_for_booboos. Donations are also accepted through the program’s Venmo, @EBBB21.

This article was originally published in the Dec. 26, 2024 edition of The Kerrville Daily Times.