The teaching hospital staff love the cheerful fleece blankets that Diane Ostergaard makes with TLC.
A couple of years ago, Diane Ostergaard brought her kitty into the OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Wolf was critically ill with cancer and was not eating so he spent some time in the ICU while the hospital built his strength up and treated his cancer. Today Wolf takes cancer medication every two weeks and most of the time eats pretty well. “I’ve had to adjust his diet to keep him eating,” says Ostergaard, “but he seems happy and acts like a normal cat.”
While Wolf was in the ICU, the students who were on rotation at that time came into the hospital on the weekend so she and her husband could visit their cat. Ostergaard appreciated that extra effort and wanted to find a way to give back. After giving it some thought, she came up with a terrific idea: make bright, fun, custom-fitted blankets to replace the towels that lined the cages in the ICU. Client services coordinator Mandy Seals loves the blankets not only because they are beautiful but also because they don’t bunch up and are easy to get in and out. “They are such soft fabric and fit perfectly,” she says. “A small thing like that makes a big difference.”
The hospital staff look forward to seeing Ostergaard every few months when she stops by the hospital with bags and bags of new blankets. She chooses colorful fleece fabric with animal prints or OSU logos to cheer up owners who are visiting seriously ill pets. “It is payback for all the nice things the hospital staff have done for us,” she says.
