In light of what has happened, Will and I really wanted to do something for Abby. We didn’t know what. I have researched many of the national and international organizations on meningitis. So many of them exist to get the word out about getting vaccinated. Well, that didn’t save our daughter because she was vaccinated, so while important, this isn’t the message that we felt that we needed to spread.
There are 91 strains of the
s. pneumoniae bacteria and Prevnar, the vaccine, protects you against only 7 of these strains. My alternative was to support the development of a vaccine that covers all 91 strains. Dr. Richard Malley at Children’s Hospital of Boston is actually working on this endeavor. In my whole life, I will never raise enough money to make a dent in this research because when it comes to development of a new vaccine, that is pharmaceutical R&D money. That is billions of dollars (not just millions). So we figured we could do something else to help others in Abby’s memory.
Abby loved her books. We read to her just about everyday of her life. We still read to her, as we go to the cemetery daily and read stories. While she was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), we wanted to read books to her, but there were none available. My sister-in-law, Bernice, had to go down to the gift shop and buy some books. This is a children’s hospital and it is unbelievable that there is no children’s library! So I made a few phone calls to Medical City, and they have agreed to let us host a book drive, Dec 1st-31st to collect new children’s books to supply the PICU. Any money raised in memory of Abby will go toward the Child Life Department at Medical City Children's Hospital.
We will mark each book donated in memory of Abigail Kearney. We also setup a wish list for Abigail Kearney on Amazon.com that will allow people to select a book from the registry to ship directly to us. Any monetary donations should be made directly to Medical City Children's Hospital in memory of Abigail Kearney. Alternatively, Will or I will collect checks made out to Medical City and ensure that the money is delivered. All donations are tax-deductible. Links to the official flier, the wish list, and the Medical City Foundation are available to the left.
We found a great spot located close to the center of Houston. Amy's Ice Cream has a drop off box right near the door. 
The Houston drive is now starting to collect books for the Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.
