Physicians, nurses and staff at Texas Health Southlake welcomed eight-year-old Clyde Devendorf (center) and his grandmother, Laura Devendorf, for ice cream and to show that it's cool to wear pink. The visit kicked-off the hospital's annual Peers for Pink program to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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Texas Health Southlake Hospital kicked-off Breast Cancer Awareness Month with an unexpected special guest: eight-year-old Clyde Devendorf, who broke his fingers playing baseball and chose a pink cast to honor women he knows who have fought the disease.
Members of Southlake's fire and police departments greeted eight-year-old Clyde Devendorf, who had been teased for wearing a pink arm cast, at Texas Health Southlake to teach him how-to deal with bullies. Left to right: Firefighter Cody Brazelton, Lieutenant Clif Altom, Engineer Paul Cook, Clyde Devenforf, Corporal Preston Logan, Officer Tony Pate.
According to Texas Health Southlake Marketing Director Laura Redman, she received a phone call from Clyde's grandmother, Laura Devendorf, asking for breast cancer-related stickers to put on the cast because Clyde was being teased by kids for wearing a pink cast.
Texas Health Southlake not only created custom stickers for Clyde's cast, but invited him and his grandmother to the hospital for ice cream and a photo with staff, many of whom wear pink every Wednesday for breast cancer awareness.
“We wanted to show Clyde it's cool to wear pink and we are proud of him for standing up for breast cancer awareness,” said Redman. “We also had members of Southlake's police and fire departments show up to support Clyde and talk to him about bullies and how-to deal with them.”
Redman is part of Texas Health Southlake's Peers for Pink team, which organizes activities throughout October to raise money for breast cancer research. In addition to a staff bake sale, a silent auction was held October 13 in the hospital's lobby. All funds are donated to Cancer Care Services in Fort Worth.