LUBBOCK, Texas — Aflac donated 40 of their ‘My Special Aflac Ducks’ to Covenant Children’s which will in turn give them to kids with cancer.
West Texas Market Director, Jeff Pettit, told EverythingLubbock.com and KLBK on Wednesday that Aflac has always worked closely with pediatric cancer, and that their goal is for every kid over three with cancer to have a duck.
“It’s a companion that they can hold and touch,” Pettit said. “If we can make that experience just a little more easy on them, that’s what our mission is.”
The ducks have been described as social robots. They are not live ducks, but they are more than a stuffed-plush toy.
One child who has received a duck is four-year-old Mariah. Her father, Jimmy Covarrubio, said Mariah has an inoperable brain tumor, and this duck brings her hope.
“To see her having to go through all of this, the surgery, and being hospitalized, it’s tough,” Covarrubio said. “You have to be strong so they can be strong.”
Covenant Children’s Child Life Specialist, Kathryn Pylant, said they are just one of hundreds of hospitals to receive the donation, and they plan to order more soon.
“I’ve seen it light up patients faces,” Pylant. “Siblings interact with them and parents as well, they all get joy from it.”