Premature babies have a really rough start in life. Most of them end up hooked up to ventilators. Some even require surgery to fix a defective heart valve or some other condition brought on by the fact that they came out of their mothers a little too soon. Fortunately, a kind Georgia man living in a nursing home decided to make life for these preemies a little easier by warming their tiny little heads right up. All it took was for him to figure out how to master the art of knitting and then distribute these adorable handmade caps to some babies in need.Ed knew he wanted to volunteer when the staff at the Dogwood Forest Assisted Living Facility asked their elderly residents to assist in making caps for premature babies.
Especially parents like Doug Bunt and his wife, whose youngest son Matthew was a preemie just like their 5-year-old had been. For the Bunts, knowing that there was someone out there who cared so much for these babies meant the world to them.
Although the corporate office had eight communities, Dogwood was the only one that came to the aid of these adorable preemies.
The retired engineer took it upon himself to figure out how to knit, which he found to be an exciting challenge, especially since he never knitted in his life. His daughter bought him a looming kit with instructions, which helped a lot. He even held classes so that his fellow residents would follow in his steps. Unfortunately, not many of them participated… at least not initially.
With the help of his family and Dogwood staff members, he managed to knit a bunch of caps to present to the NICU.
It wasn’t long before his entire couch was filled with cute caps made of yarn that would later be distributed. Of the 300 plus hats created, Ed knitted 55 of them by himself.
The hats were eventually delivered to the Northside Hospital in time for National Preemie Awareness Day. The staff and the families were overwhelmed by the support that these caps represented. Knowing that people cared was clearly a huge relief, especially to the preemies who no longer had to worry about their heads being cold.
