Stuffed animals are handy in times of trauma for children

Two days before Christmas, she was allowed to go home and spend a day with her mother and three older sisters. She was accompanied in the ambulance by a 4-foot-tall teddy bear.

In times of trouble or trauma, a cuddly companion can help a child cope. Hundreds of stuffed animals are given to children every year, thanks to donations to the Emergency Medical Services Authority and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Stuffed animals help comfort children after car wrecks, fires, home accidents and medical emergency calls, said Danielle Cain, an EMSA paramedic.

Six days before Christmas, EMSA paramedics were down to their last two stuffed animals.

Then, on Tuesday, about 90 employees of Chesapeake Energy Corp. donated 220 stuffed animals. LaTonya Porter's donated bear went home with Brendine.

“These bears are very important to us,” Cain said. “Sometimes children are afraid of us so we use the bears as a tool to help assess the children.”