MTSU student Jasmine “Jaz” Gray often recalls the many days she spent in the hospital, where she underwent 21 surgeries to treat arteriovenous malformation, a condition that occurs when arteries in the brain connect to nearby veins without having normal vessels between them.
Like most hospital patients, Gray said she wore the standard-issue hospital gowns, always drab to look at, during her many long hospital stays. In fact, she likens the boring apparel to “cardboard boxes.” However, it was because of these numerous hospital visits, she said, that she ultimately realized what a positive difference a pair of pajamas can make during a child’s hospital tenure.
“The usual hospital gowns are pretty awful and after being in the hospital for a few days, the gowns remind them of being patients,” confirmed Dr. James Suen of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, a facility that specializes in medical conditions such as Gray’s.
“Anything that reminds the child of being at home–such as pajamas?is helpful to get the child well,” observed Suen, who performed many of Gray’s surgeries.
Consequently, once Gray recognized firsthand what new pajamas could do for children who were kept in the hospital for extended stays, she decided to take a chance and do something to help make such medical stays more bearable. In turn, during her senior year of high school, she initiated a project she dubbed Jaz’s Jammies as part of her effort to secure the Gold Award project, the highest award in Girl Scouts.
Such an award, Gray explained, must be secured by choosing a project that has meaning and can positively impact people’s lives. And it was then, she added, that Gray asked herself, “Things happen for a reason, but what are your experiences going to do for someone else?”
The Memphis native then set about the task of collecting pajamas for her self-named Jaz’s Jammies pajama drive, which has since become an annual endeavor. With a motto and mission of “in giving we receive,” she made flyers, sent letters and encouraged friends and family to spread the word about her efforts to collect 200 pairs of children’s pajamas for other children who also faced extended hospital stays.
Gray’s initial PJ drive was a resounding success. She collected more than four times her original goal?850 pairs of children’s pajamas?and shared them with young patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where she underwent her surgeries, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in her hometown of Memphis.
“Many children with chronic illnesses are from low-income families and probably never had pajamas, and the pajamas are theirs to take home when they leave the hospital,” noted Suen, regarding the Jaz’s Jammies that Gray distributed.
Although Gray has long since earned her Gold Award from the Girl Scouts, she wanted to continue the Jaz’s Jammies collection effort after she enrolled at MTSU. Thus, last year, she said, she gathered 500 pairs of pajamas and not only donated them to Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, but also to local homeless shelters.
This year, she said she hopes her monthlong Jaz’s Jammies drive will be an even bigger success, thanks to the participation of MTSU’s National Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council, whose members will help involve local sororities and fraternities in a contest to see who can collect the most pajamas.
Gray said she also has organized a team to promote the pajama drive, including Charlotte Smith, a freshman family and consumer science major at MTSU.
“Jaz took her illness and turned it into something positive to help others,” noted Smith, who said she signed on to help promote the children’s pajama drive because she believes in the project. “She has a passion for giving to others that really inspires me to help.”
This year, Jaz’s Jammies drive will be conducted March 11 through April 11. Those interested in donating to Gray’s effort are asked to e-mail her directly at jag4t@mtsu.edu.
