12-year-old girl collects art supplies for UPMC Mercy Burn Center patients
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A 12-year-old girl who suffered burns during a house fire when she was 5 years old is giving back.
Meira Loring just celebrated her bat mitzvah, and one of her projects was collecting art supplies for patients at the UPMC Mercy Burn Center. The center is where she received care and healing that went beyond just medical attention.
The hospital has a robust art therapy program that Loring loved when she was a patient there for two months.
"It was mostly to give back to the hospital because of all they've done for me and my family," Loring said.
Her mom, Leah Ackner said, "The child life specialists helped out tremendously, both through art therapy and just talking us through what would happen. So, it was important for us to come back."
The family visits UPMC Mercy regularly to show their gratitude. Dr. Jenny Ziembicki talked about how important compassion and creativity can be in someone's recovery.
"This is a great example of a former patient being able to overcome so much injury and help others in similar situations," Ziembicki said.
