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February 13, 2000
Girl's quilt is quite a comforterMaking quilt is fun project during cancer treatmentBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer GIBBON -- A hand-made quilt patiently pieced together in bright colors, hand selected and crafted by a 6-year-old Redwood Falls kindergarten student, hangs on the wall of a small cafe, a symbol of hope that her ordeal with cancer is over and a bright future awaits. The quilt has hung in the Back Street Cafe in Gibbon since the end of January. The cafe is connected to Gallagher's Quilt Shop, which has played a large role in the girl's story. It is a story that began Aug. 23, 1999, when then-5-year-old Bailey Hansen, the daughter of Pat and Nancy Hansen, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer known as Wilms tumor. Only about 450 children a year are diagnosed with the disease. Bailey spent three weeks at Children's Hospital in St. Paul receiving radiation treatments right after being diagnosed and has returned every Tuesday since, where she has undergone extensive chemotherapy for 27 weeks, her mother Nancy said. Her final day of treatment was Feb. 8. Bailey, who turned six in November, attends kindergarten at St. John's in Redwood Falls on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so the family tried to schedule treatment on Tuesdays to avoid too many days off from school. In all, Nancy estimates that Bailey has only missed seven days of school throughout the entire ordeal. "We made so many trips to the Cities that we decided to try a different route each time to break the monotony," she said. Hearing that the quilt shop had just opened in Gibbon, Nancy planned a trip through as a special treat for Bailey so they could visit the store. "We stopped in here and Bailey spent some time looking at all types of bright colored fabrics that she wanted for her quilt," Nancy said. After spending some time looking at fabrics and trying to decide what looked best, the owner of the shop, Rita Gallagher made an offer the Hansens couldn't turn down. "I told her I would let her have the fabric if she would make me a quilt that I could hang in the restaurant," Gallagher said. "That was three months ago. In January, she came into the shop with the finished quilt." As soon as Bailey heard the offer she was anxious to get started on the quilt. She loves to iron the fabric and was ready to try a new project, Nancy said. There is an annual state quilt show with a special section for children's quilts and Gallagher wanted the quilt displayed at the show. "Bailey laid all the colors out, cut out the squares, lined it up on a pre-designed grid and sat on my lap while she ran the quilt through the sewing machine," Nancy said. "The quilt was entirely her project, with the exception of the hand stitching on the edge. She sat on my lap because she couldn't reach the foot pedal." The pre-designed grid system was something Nancy has never seen, despite having sewn for 30 years. The plan was to have the quilt completed earlier, but Bailey got sick in November and had to go back to the hospital for a few days, Nancy said. "We are excited that she is finished with the chemotherapy and the doctors have high hope that she will be OK after this," she said. She will continue to go to the doctors once a month for the next two years and once every three months for two years after that, to guard against a recurrence of the disease. "It is a long process, but we have progressed down the road," Nancy said. "I'm just glad the worse part is over. The outlook for Bailey is good at this point. She mostly got tired after treatments, so that part will be easier on her now." Bailey, who wears a baseball cap to cover the baldness caused by her treatment, admitted that she likes bright colors and had fun making the quilt. She is anxious to get started on her next quilting project. The Hansens will take the quilt to St. Paul, where it will be hung in the hallway at Children's Hospital for a few weeks before being taken home, where it will be used on Bailey's bed, Nancy said.
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