April 12, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, AL — When 9-year-old Sadie Chapman and 25-year-old Babec had their first heart-to-heart, they talked jewelry. Sadie thought the bright pinks and greens in the necklace were the perfect complement to the big guy’s silver mane and dark eyes. And when the 400-pound gorilla pressed his chest against his training gate in a gesture as if to say, “You show me your scar, I’ll show you mine,” Sadie knew she’d found a kindred spirit.
“I wear my beads to school, and my friends ask me questions about them. Now that we can talk about the beads, kids don’t make fun of me. They see me as a real kid who is funny to talk to and normal like the other kids,” Sadie said. “I figure now that Babec has his beads, the other gorillas won’t make fun of him either.”
Obviously the baubles Sadie brought Babec weren’t merely a token of affection. The necklace is part of UAB’s Bravery Beads program, which helps children — and now one special gorilla at the Birmingham Zoo — cope with serious illnesses like Babec’s congestive heart failure and Sadie’s congenital heart defect.
Each time a child at UAB endures a procedure or treatment such as chemotherapy or surgery, he or she receives a unique bead that represents that particular procedure. As beads are added to the necklace, it becomes an ever-growing record of his or her treatment and medical history.
“The beads make it easier for children to understand their medical conditions and communicate concerns about their treatment,” said Jane Love, child life coordinator for UAB Cardiovascular Services. “They help children open up to medical staff, family and even other children. They become precious keepsakes, helping a child tell his or her personal story in a tangible way.”
Sadie, a two-time open-heart surgery survivor, UAB ambassador for Bravery Beads, and an avid Birmingham Zoo-goer, thought the Western Lowland gorilla would be the perfect candidate to spread the word about bravery beads. Sadie is the daughter of Gary and Bernadette Chapman of Birmingham.
When they met, Sadie was ecstatic. “It was so cool,” she said. “I made him a card, but he tore it up and ate it. That’s okay … at least he looked at the pictures first. It was just so neat to know that we have been through some of the same things.” The necklace now hangs in Babec’s sleeping quarters, “where he can see it, but not eat it,” Sadie said.
Babec made history in 2004 when he became the first gorilla ever implanted with a cardiac resynchronization therapy device, an advanced pacemaker that improves the rhythm of the heart. Babec’s treatment was carried out by a team of medical and veterinary experts and technologists, including Babec’s veterinarian, E. Marie Rush, D.V.M., director of Veterinary Services at the Birmingham Zoo; UAB cardiologists led by Neal Kay, M.D. (who implanted the device); Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine; Philips Medical Systems; and Guidant Corporation.
When Rush and Birmingham Zoo officials recognized how much the beads meant to Sadie, the zoo decided to continue its partnership with UAB Hospital. “I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to meet Sadie. She is an inspiration to all those she meets. Her courage, spirit and enthusiasm for life are amazing, and a challenge to everyone she meets, as they are able to see life through her eyes … and smile about it,” Rush said.
A replica of Babec’s bravery beads is now on exhibit at the Birmingham Zoo in a shadow box next to a replica of the device implanted in Babec, along with information about Babec’s medical milestones.
In addition, the Bravery Beads program, administered by the UAB Hospital Auxiliary, is funded through the sale of specially created necklaces made of glass beads with a Czech glass heart emblem. These necklaces, separate from the ones the children receive, are available for purchase in the hospital’s gift shop. Now, the Birmingham Zoo is selling the necklaces in its membership office to help fund the program. You can also visit Babec at the Birmingham Zoo.
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