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Wonderful
legacy in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis
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Article as published published in the December, 1997, issue
of "The Teddy Bear Times" (published in the United
Kingdom)
| Burke's spirit continues to reach out to help others |
| A
special teddy bear - the Burke P Bear- was named after
an incredibly spirited young man, Burke Derr, who died
of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) just two days before his 19th
birthday. Although his family in the USA miss Burke terribly,
they believe his spirit and legacy lives on in the bear,
which is helping raise research money to find a cure for
the disease which took Burke's life. Burke became a Boyds
Bear collector about six years ago when he was about 13
years old, said his father, Bob Derr. Burke had always
collected teddy bears, but six years ago he began collecting
only Boyds Bears and had over 150 in his collection.
He was diagnosed with CF
at the age of five- and-a-half months old. CF is the
most common fatal genetic disease of childhood and it
affects the lungs and the digestive system. "Burke
never let CF slow him down - even as an older teenager
when he had to be on oxygen all the time, he never sat
around feeling sorry for himself. He was out to the
mall, to the movies and
to local retailers in search of Boyds Bears," said
Bob. "He was voted 'Most spirited' by his high
school graduating class. "In February 1997 two
of his friends wrote to G M Lowenthal (Chief Designer
and President of The Boyds Collection) to tell him of
Burke's collection and that Burke didn't have a whole
lot of time left. Lowenthal responded, saying one of
the bears in the fall collection would be named Burke
P Bear after our Burke." Before Burke died in June,
a local retailer Lucinda Marks had the idea of giving
Pennsylvania Cystic Fibrosis (PACFI) one dollar for
every Burke P Bear she sold to support CF research projects.
Burke's
story was put on the Internet and Burke P Bear retailers
from around the USA and Canada rallied round to help
raise funds for CF. And Burke's family recently received
a message from a lady named Jude who has a son, Tommy,
who has CF. Tommy is apparently less than a year old
and cannot say the word 'Burke' so he calls his Burke
Bear 'Burp'. Jude wrote: |
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| "Who could
have thought so much of a young man's spirit could have
been captured into the body of a little teddy bear? I
tell you, there's something special about 'Burp'. The
first time I picked him up, I automatically hugged him
and I swear to you, he hugged back! Tommy loves his Burke
and takes him everywhere with him. "My sister is
baffling a rare and incurable form of cancer, and at her
last hospitalization, I got
her a Burke too. She brightened immediately and was also
touched by the story of Burke P Bear. When Burke is around,
everyone just
feels a little bit better. What a wonderful legacy your
Burke has left for us. God bless you." "Jude's
comments touched our hearts, and we know Burke's spirit
continues to reach out to help others," said Bob.
"We know he's real pleased that his Burke P Bear
is raising funds for CF research and increased clinical
care worldwide. And we know he's laughing angelically
at being called 'Burp'.
Cystic Fibrosis Worldwide has teamed up with PACFI and
Burke to raise funds to help establish effective clinical
care worldwide.To find out more about CFW and Burke
or purchase our furry friend visit Order
Burke.
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A young man's spirit was captured in a teddy bear
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