BALTIMORE, Md. — BALTIMORE — A Maryland father is on a mission to help young patients at Greater Baltimore Medical Center feel seen, one Lego piece at a time.
Mike Cyr's 10-year-old son, Brooks, was born with cleft lip, cleft palate and wears a hearing aid. Brooks has been receiving care at the Randolph B. Capone Cleft Lip and Palate Program at GBMC since he was a baby.
When Mike noticed Brooks had developed a passion for building with Legos, he started doing some research.
"I got word that there were more Legos that were inclusive," Mike said.
A few years ago, musical artist Pharrell and LEGO teamed up to create a set of figures featuring those same characteristics — cleft lip, cleft palate, cochlear implants and hearing aids.
Brooks' reaction when he first saw them was immediate.
"Can I please play with one? Pleeeeeease! I just love Legos, and I love all the things that make me special and different, so two parts together!" Brooks said.
For Mike, seeing his son represented in a toy meant something bigger.
"I was looking for Brooks to have representation so he can play as himself; it became clear: why just buy one? Why not buy 15, 20, 40?" Mike said.
So he did — and brought them to GBMC.
Cleft Team Clinical Program Manager Steph Boblooch said the donation has given her a new tool to connect with patients.
"This has been really fun to bring with me into the room and tell patients they can pick someone they feel represents them well," Boblooch said. "We want our patients at an early age to feel comfortable and supported by us and be seen and involved in their own care."
Patients come to GBMC throughout their lives for care, and the goal is to make those frequent visits comfortable.
The collection of LEGOs spans a wide range of figures. Mike said the variety is intentional.
"From sports players to coaches, every profession you can think of — doctors, nurses — that way, when the kids come in, they can say, 'That's who I want to be.' You want to be you in that story. It gives you the confidence to say I've done this before; I'm gonna do it in real life," Mike said.
Tracking down the figures has not been simple. The inclusive Lego set is limited, and Mike said the search has stretched across months.
"It's only one set that has them, and you have one face. There's still one more, but there's only one person who has more than one, and they're in Germany, and it's $50 shipping, so I'm still waiting for the American market to catch up," Mike said.
Still, he says the effort is worth it.
"It's easy to spend money when you're making kids happy," Mike said. "GBMC's cleft team has done so much for us, so their support really fueled us giving back to them. By giving back to them, we're giving back to the kids."
Boblooch said she hopes the collection keeps growing.
"It'd be awesome if every single one of our patients would be able to have one; that would be really cool, and we hope it continues," Boblooch said.
For more information about the GBMC Cleft Team, click here.
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