SoutheastHEALTH Doctors Treat Teddy Bears

Five-year-old Graham Hasheider of Jackson brought his "ailing" white teddy bear named "Snowie" to the doctor's office.

Classmate Wyatt Schuessler, 5, of Fruitland, Mo., brought his cuddly "Bumpy Bump" dog to be treated for a leg injury.

For the 21 kids from the Big Stuff Preschool in Fruitland, the Teddy Bear Clinic at SoutheastHEALTH's West Campus on Tuesday proved to be a big hit.

Three physicians on the West Campus and their staff weighed the stuffed animals, took their "blood pressure" and treated them for everything from headaches and broken bones to sprains and strains and other assorted make-believe injuries.

Southeast Primary Care physicians Danette Miller, MD, and Jamie Harrison, MD, and Mark C. Rusten, MD, of Southeast Ear, Nose & Throat "treated" the stuffed animals with everything from pretend shots and colorful Band-Aids to splints.

Dr. Rusten checked on the condition of 4-year-old Cameron Seay's fuzzy duck. "I don't think I ever looked up a duck's nose before," Dr. Rusten told the Jackson boy.

Addisyn Eubanks, 4, of Jackson brought her teddy bear to be doctored. "They gave him a shot," she proudly noted.

Dr. Miller, whose 3-year-old son Ben Austin attends the pre-school, came up with the idea of the Teddy Bear Clinic to put children at ease when visiting the doctor. "I just want them to learn to not be scared of going to the doctor," she explained.

Not all of the teddy bears were sick. "Some of them just needed a checkup," Dr. Miller observed. All of the stuffed animals received tender, loving care from the doctors and staff.

Each child received a colorful balloon after having his or her stuffed animal treated by the three doctors. "I think it went well," a smiling Dr. Miller said as the excited children gathered in the waiting room after their doctors' visits, hugging their stuffed animals.