Haicooo

Kathryn draws pictures - Her dad writes haiku poems - Benefits NICU

Fun for all ages

Web manager Kathryn Armstrong and her father (left) created the book “Haicooo” together. Armstrong first sketched her animals, like “Fire guy Joe” (above), with a pencil. She traced them with ink and then filled them in with watercolors.

This character was inspired by her colleague’s husband, Joe Chernaskey, who is a firefighter.

When Kathryn Armstrong, Web manager for marketing and public affairs, was old enough to hold scissors, she would cut out shapes from construction paper for her father, Forrest Greenslade, Ph.D. He used them to make diagrams for his research presentations while a scientist for Johnson & Johnson.

More than 30 years later, the two formed their father-daughter team again—this time to write and illustrate a children’s book called “Haicooo: Little Poems for Children.” The idea came from drawings Armstrong created for LVHHN’s Web site redesign. “We wanted to give the pediatric department’s pages a child-friendly look with bright illustrations,” she says. Her first drawing was of one of her dogs, a husky she rescued named Frosty.

“I sent it to my dad,” she says. “He learned about haiku poetry in his writers’ group and sent back a poem about Frosty.” As Armstrong completed more drawings, she sent them to her father who continued to be inspired. “We had more than two dozen drawings and poems and decided to create a book,” she says.

They dedicated the book to Frosty (who since has passed away) and Armstrong’s 22-month-old daughter, Nicole, the inspiration for donating the profits to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Rewind to April 2005 when Armstrong was pregnant with Nicole. The pair was in danger when Armstrong’s blood pressure spiked close to her due date. Caregivers on labor and delivery made the decision to induce labor. To prevent her from having a seizure during delivery (a risk of high blood pressure), doctors medicated Armstrong. She was in labor for 30 long hours.

As she pushed, little Nicole’s heart rate dropped rapidly—and when she entered the world, she wasn’t breathing.

“The NICU team was in my room within 20 seconds,” Armstrong says. “Thankfully, she started breathing on her own in that time.” But Armstrong will never forget the swift actions of her colleagues who examined her daughter and made sure she was OK. “My family and I experienced firsthand what sets LVHHN apart.”

Now almost two years later, Armstrong reads “Haicooo” to her daughter. Nicole giggles and points to the animals. “Moo. Cow,” she says. Armstrong smiles. “Because of the NICU’s work, other moms will be able to read to their children, too.”

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