By Jessica Johnson
The Post and Courier
CAMDEN, S.C. — Judy Wilson of Camden gives because she has suffered loss.
Wilson started bringing bags full of stuffed animals to the Charleston Fire Department soon after the Super Sofa Store fire took the lives of nine firefighters on June 18, 2007. She wanted them to be given to the firefighters’ children, but she kept coming back.
She lost her 13-year-old son in a boating accident in February 1996 and said donating stuffed animals is something her son would have liked.
Wilson brings new animals to Charleston Fire Station 10 and Station 11 each time she visits her grandchildren, who live in West Ashley.
Firefighters now use the donated animals during fire and emergency calls when children are involved.
Firefighters say handing a stuffed bear or rabbit to upset children helps distract them because they take them into their hands and look at them.
Wilson said she visits with the firefighters a few moments each time telling them she hopes they don’t have to go to too many fires.
Wilson’s son, Patrick, was in an airboat with his father in February 1996. His dad tapped him on the shoulder to warn him of an obstacle on the river and when Patrick stopped the boat, it sank. Wilson said her son was a strong swimmer and tried to jump for a nearby tree stump on the river bank but missed and went under in the cold water.
She said giving to others helps her get over the loss of her son. It’s something she learned after starting an organization called Baby Angels, a fund that collects money so Wilson can purchase headstones for people who can’t afford to buy them for their own children.
She learned of the need while visiting her son’s grave because she saw that some young children’s graves lacked headstones.
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