'Inhale Courage, Exhale Fear': Fayetteville teen creates t-shirt to help ICU staff at local hospital
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- At just 13 years old Lauren McGarry understands the magnitude of this pandemic because her mother, Felicia McGarry, is nurse manager in the Intensive Care Unit at Cape Fear Valley Health Hospital.
Lauren decided she wanted to encourage and uplift healthcare workers on the front lines of this pandemic. She started making t-shirts with a very inspiring message on them.
"They say inhale courage, exhale fear. It's showing you need to be hopeful and courageous and don't be scared. It's OK," Lauren said.
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The seventh grader came up with the idea once schools shut down and she noticed mom working longer hours. She turned the extra bedroom in her parents' home into a t-shirt making operation and is using the money made to buy snacks for those working in the ICU.
"If they leave something could happen. Lets just say something went wrong with a patient and all the nurses had to go on deck for one patient," Lauren said. "So, it's good to have snacks. They can run and grab one and keep moving."
SEE ALSO: Fayetteville business donates $5 of shirt sales to NC Restaurant Workers Relief Fund
Her mother told ABC11 the teen has already made about 30 shirts and business is still picking up.
"Inhale courage and exhale fear is so fitting for our ICU team and any healthcare team battling the coronavirus," Felicia said. "On a day off I could go out and it seems like such a beautiful day, but when you walk into the hospital, it's such a different feeling."
SEE ALSO: Nurse says she worked at New York hospitals while infected with coronavirus
According to Felicia, her colleagues draw strength from her daughter's shirts and the message on them. It's proof that not all superheroes wear capes. Some wear scrubs.
If you'd like to support this effort, email Lauren McGarry at maed2order@gmail.com. (Note: Not a typo--that email is correct)
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