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Sick children at CHKD receive Build-A-Bears made with love

Posted at 1:55 PM, Dec 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-04 17:40:09-05

NORFOLK, Va. - Terry Friar knows firsthand how life can change in an instant.

His daughter Emily was diagnosed with leukemia at just 8 years old. It was a fight that spanned multiple years, and she spent many holidays at CHKD.

There were many sleepless nights and chemotherapy treatments.

"When a child is going through a life-threatening disease like that, there's very few smiles that take place," Terry Friar told News 3.

Luckily for the Friars, Emily came out on the other side. She is now 14 and in remission and even has plans to become a nurse herself one day.

Yet Terry said he will never forget how the community fought with them, especially during the holidays.

"The one thing we always remembered was the generosity of the people who donated toys to the hospital," Friar said.

Now he's bringing that joy to another family in pain. With the help of his State Farm office in Portsmouth and generous community members, they are donating 211 Build-A-Bear stuffed animals to children on the oncology unit at CHKD.

The bears were made over two weekends at the Build-A-Bear in Williamsburg. Everything from your regular teddy bear to Mickey Mouse was created.