Replacing lost stuffies began a wave of kindness

As a child life specialist, Randi Jaffe understands the bond between a child and their beloved stuffy. During the LA fires, her heart went out to all the children who'd lost their best furry friends—then she took action!

- —Bill Holton

Randi Jaffe couldn’t sleep—tossing and turning, worrying about all the Los Angeles families whose homes were burning. “They're losing everything,” the New Jersey mother of two fretted, and then she began to wonder, If I was told I had to leave my home, what's the first thing I would grab?

Randi sat bolt upright because she knew what she would take: her 3½-year-old son Ryan’s beloved baby cheetah. It had no tags—she couldn’t remember where it came from. But Ryan couldn’t sleep without it. It was absolutely irreplaceable.

As a child life specialist at a local children’s hospital, Randi helps kids through the trauma of scary places, needles and surgeries.

“Does your child have a favorite stuffy?” she asks parents when their little one undergoes an operation. She gives the bear, puppy or stuffed turtle a matching hospital bracelet and sometimes even a gown.

In the OR, Randi stands by until the anesthesia has taken hold. “Everything’s going fine,” she'll tell the worried mom and dad, handing over the stuffy so they can hold it until their child wakes up in Recovery.