Angel Tree program gets rolling at MUSC Health

Sometimes, a kid’s bike can be too tempting to resist. “Whee,” said unit secretary Crystal McKenzie as she took one for a spin just outside a neonatal nursery at MUSC Children’s Hospital.

There are quite a few children’s goodies starting to pile up there, thanks to a group of nurses, technicians, secretaries and other people who work in the hospital’s neonatal nurseries. They’ve teamed up to help a mother and her three kids through the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. 

Taking part in the program is a tradition at MUSC, where last year, employees collected gifts for about 1,800 kids. Elizabeth Williams, quality and outcomes manager of the MUSC Health Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, runs the MUSC Angel Tree effort. “We’re the biggest contributor in the Lowcountry,” she said. “Between adopted angels, monetary donations and other toys people bring in, we impact the lives of about 2,000 children.”

To “adopt” an Angel Tree child, people choose tags that list each child’s first name, age and clothing size; his or her needs, such as underwear, socks and a coat; and the child’s toy wish list. The tags are hanging on Christmas trees and walls around campus. Then the employees shop and bring in the gifts to MUSC to be collected by the Salvation Army and delivered to the children. 

The neonatal group decided to work together to help a family with three kids. 

Nurse Cameron Dixon said most of the team members are parents themselves who can imagine what Angel Tree families are going through. “We want to help kids have a great Christmas.”

Amanda Geiger’s kids should have a wonderful Christmas, thanks to Dixon’s group, which has “adopted” them. Geiger is grateful for the help. She’s a mother of three who works two jobs and has one day off a week – Sunday. And on that day, she takes her kids to church at the Salvation Army in the West Ashley area of Charleston.

“Ever since I walked in the door here, my life has changed,” she said. “It’s been the help I need, the extra push.”

Geiger’s family has weathered a lot of challenges. Her 11-year-old son, Michael, has hypotonia. The condition, also known as floppy baby syndrome because it causes babies to be limp, means he has low muscle tone. He also has hypothyroidism, asthma and developmental delays. 

You’d never know it to see or talk to him as he clowns around with his brother Jeremy, who’s 8, and sister Montana, who’s 6. Extensive, ongoing physical therapy is paying off. “He’s done really well,” his mother said. “They said he’d never walk.” 

Michael became a patient at MUSC Children’s Health after the family moved to the Charleston area from Florida about a year and a half ago. Geiger’s brother was moving here for work. She and her kids were ready for a change, so they joined him.

She’s glad they did. “MUSC is so much better than the Florida hospital we had. There, just to get in to Michael’s endocrinologist, it took three or four months. Here, they were asking me to come in the next day.”

Finding a hospital they’re happy with is important, because Michael needs ongoing care. Geiger said hip surgery is in his future because hypotonia affected his growth. “There’s a lot of pain involved in that. He walks but he can’t stand up or walk for too long because he gets real tired.”

And health problems aren’t the only thing this family has been dealing with. Geiger said Michael was bullied at the first school he attended after the family’s move. “He came home crying every day,” Geiger said. 

She shifted him to a different school, where he’s thriving. “He’s happy now.”

Geiger has been the family breadwinner since the kids’ father, a truck driver, developed serious health problems related to diabetes. With the holidays coming, she got to the point where she knew she needed help.

“I’d never done anything like that before, but I’d do anything for my kids,” Geiger said. “I stood in line for the Angel Tree, and they just stepped up and were willing to help. They welcomed us, and it’s been a real blessing.”

With her kids signed up, Geiger knew they’d be taken care of for Christmas. What she didn’t know is that they’d be selected by the neonatal team at MUSC Children’s Hospital. Unit secretary Michelle Anderson said the level of enthusiasm has been amazing. “As soon as we sent the email to our team about the Angel Tree kids, we got tons of responses right away. ‘Yes, let’s do it.’ ‘I can do this, I can do that.’ It’s just been enormous.”

Williams said there’s still time for other people who want to “adopt” the remaining Angel Tree kids. “This truly helps the most in need,” she said. “The Salvation Army worked hard to ensure that.”

The effort will wrap up December 2 at noon with a big parade on the MUSC campus. Geiger’s kids have been chosen to ride on a float. “That is right up their alley,” Geiger said. “They’ll be so excited.”