CINCINNATI — On a recent February day, Hebron mom Brandi Hamilton traveled into Cincinnati with her son Nash to deliver boxes to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The two were delivering the first of several shipments of colorful, soft gowns for the children to wear.
Nash, Hamilton said, had one of the gowns when he was fighting cancer at Children's. So when surgical nurse Katie Resch noticed some of her patients were anxious before surgery, she reached out to Hamilton to get some similar gowns.
"They went from being anxious to excited because they got to make a choice in part of their day," Resch said. "They would light up and then it would be an open gate to a conversation.”
Hamilton had gotten her son's from the California company Brave Gowns, which makes fun gowns with plastic snaps made to fit children. She reached out to WCPO 9 News in 2024 to get the word out that they were trying to get more gowns for Children's — and WCPO's viewers and readers responded.
Their hopes of getting 200 gowns donated were surpassed the first night Hamilton's story aired. When all was said and done, Hamilton said they got 1,273 gowns.
"We're really grateful to the community and thankful that everybody really stepped up and helped us," Hamilton said. "I mean we kept setting higher and higher goals and we exceeded every time, so it was kind of shocking how this touched people's hearts."
WATCH: How you can help give a kid at Cincinnati Children's their own "brave gown"
The gowns are made in the U.S. and cost $25 each. There are plenty of designs — from firefighters to dancers. The plastic snaps make a huge difference, ensuring kids don't have to disrobe during an MRI or any other procedure.
Because of the donations, any child who has surgery at Children’s will now get to choose their own gown and wear it.
"It feels like I'm special,” said one girl waiting for surgery. She had on a Brave Gown that had neon stars and rainbows all over it.
Now, Hamilton, her son and Resch have a new goal — to have enough gowns that every child at Children’s gets one to wear while in the hospital, not just those in the surgical center.
"We would love for Cincinnati Children's Hospital to make brave gowns standard issue," Hamilton said.
Officials at Children's say it is possible. They estimate they need as many as 6,000 gowns donated.
"We're all passionate about making things better for our kids and so being able to find those connections and make that happen makes a big difference for our kids," said Stephanie Burwinkle, the hospital's clinical manager.
If you are interested in donating a gown (or two or three), please use this link. It’s a direct link that ensures that your donation will go to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
