PICC + COZY OFFERS COMFORT TO KIDS IN THEIR MOST TRYING MOMENTS
By: Hillary LeBlanc
When your child is sick, nothing else in the world matters other than getting them comfortable, providing them joy or relief and helping them heal. Some people, who may be fortunate enough to never have these experiences, may also be shocked at the barriers or hurdles parents experience when their child is ill, needs care or support, and is in hospital. When Diane Monaco’s daughter Tessa was diagnosed with Burkitt Lymphoma, Monaco was prepared to do anything to make her daughter as comfortable as she could be as she went through treatment, but she did not expect to make an adaptable fashion brand based on her daughter’s needs.
When Tessa became sick, Monaco shared that everything happened quite quickly. Only a few days went by between the diagnosis and Tessa starting treatment. To keep Tessa hooked up to IV chemotherapy, they inserted a PICC line. She would receive chemo continuously for days at a stretch through her IV. While at SickKids hospital, Monaco shares that her daughter received care and socialization. People came in to play with Tessa, who got to make clay, paint, and make slime as a distraction from the harsh reality around her. Naturally, after a day of messy activities, Monaco wanted to help get Tessa cleaned up. “I went to pull her shirt off all it did was go right up the PAL (Peripheral Arterial Line),” she shares. “For a good five minutes I was like, I'm not taking her shirt off properly. Then I realized, you physically can't take her shirt off.” Monaco had to cut the shirt off her 6 year old daughter. Because Tessa was still eating and wanting to take baths, they kept her shirt off but covered her with a blanket, though she would reach to cover herself up if staff walked in, causing her family to search for a solution.
Monaco first thought she would make a solution by taking T-shirts and adding velcro strips to the sides she cut so she could easily open and close Tessa’s tops. Tessa found the velcro to be itchy and a bit comfortable, so Monaco upgraded to buttons and used a machine to press them into the shirt fabric. The nurses were thoroughly impressed with Monaco’s innovation and encouraged her to pursue creating an actual product from this work around to find comfort for her daughter.
As time went on, Monaco was still encouraged to make a product but Tessa’s developing care also showed more places that needed ingenuity. As an outpatient, Tessa would still receive care through a port line. These port lines and cords would dangle from her body, so the hospital gave her bands to hold the cords in place. Unfortunately, this dug the cords into Tessa’s skin, causing more irritation. At one point she had 6 lumens coming from her body, which would dangle out of her shirt, but would be so heavy it would push her shirt off her shoulders. With this added hurdle for Tessa, Monaco finally looked at testing and developing sample adaptive clothing with added features to help children battling cancer be more comfortable. She partnered with two women, Tanya and Amanda, to bring her vision to life.
From this difficult time in Monaco’s life, Picc + Cozy was born. The brand has adaptive onesies, shirts and hoodies made from 98% organic pre-washed cotton so people can be comfortable, while wearing a quality product that has features to make the treatments they are undergoing a bit easier to navigate. The features in the adaptable clothing pieces include buttons down the right side of the clothes so they can be removed while someone is attached to an IV or other hospital machinery. The garments have elastic straps to hold the cords and lumens in place without the shirt falling due to the weight. This also has reduced kinks in the cords which would sometimes set off alarms unnecessarily because the hospital machines would sense that the medicine was not being delivered properly. Near the elastic strap, there is also a pocket to tuck the lumens into which allows them to not touch the skin, avoid irritation but also be kept discreet so anyone with these cords attached can feel and look normal to any passerby. The pocket also helps keep the lumens in place so that there is less chance of them being removed from the patients arms and parents or caregivers needing to know how to reinsert them before a hospital visit or without requiring hospital care.
Picc + Cozy also sells the Wear to Care line. These garments have no adaptive elements in them, but are for those who want to support Picc + Cozy, wear the brand and logo proudly and help Monaco and her team’s initiative. 10% of all Wear to Care sales go to SickKids Hospital. Monaco and the co-founders donate all adaptable garments to those in need, free of charge. They have donated adaptable garments to SickKids, Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis and Marotta Family Hospital in Niagara Falls. Picc + Cozy is available in infant 0 - 3 month sizing and as large as adult double XXL. The team has received requests for donations for people with cardiac issues, as well as those with broken arms who want to be covered up but can’t get the broken arm through a sleeve.
Despite the fact that this is a free product for hospitals to get as a donation, Picc + Cozy isn’t being as widely used as Monaco hopes. There have been barriers as donations still need to meet certain checks and balances depending on the institution. The bureaucracy has slowed down the amount with which Monaco has been able to donate but she knows that those who receive samples are thrilled with the solution Picc + Cozy is providing for their patients whether it’s nurses, caregivers, personal support workers and for patients with a variety of care needs.
For Monaco the mission is simple: “[Creating Picc + Coz] came from a bad place, a bad time in our lives. But the goal here is to make sure that nobody has to think of something so simple as changing anybody out of a shirt or making them comfortable while they're in treatment or out of treatment.”