In 2006 my son was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. The treatment, like many other illnesses, required hundreds of transfusions. Over time I came to realize that hospital stays for anyone can be very scary – there are machines beeping and a pole with dripping IV bags that often make a child feel anxious and even sick. In many cases just the sight of an IV bag can astronomically increase a child’s anxiety level and even make them physically ill, known as anticipatory nausea. As a parent, watching IV bags filled with very powerful drugs inspired me to develop something to reduce the fear of IV infusions for our children, and for the parents who love them. From there the concept of Happy Hangers emerged.

Happy Hangers are “themed and customizable” infusion bag covers, creating a much more pleasant visual environment. The objective of Happy Hangers is to improve the outlook of these young patients through the use of positive imagery, which has been used as a calming device and can actually improve the efficacy of medications.

Whether it is whimsical fish that recreates an aquarium, smiley faces, or friendly animals the child is seeing something happy rather than scary IV bags.  From there a child’s imagination can be sparked, if only for a moment, to take them away from their current situation and mentally off to a happier place. If a child can use these positive visuals to imagine themselves in a healthy place, it might just get them there.

Happy Hangers are currently in hospital trials and has received a registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. For more information please contact us below or send us an email.