Spreading 'knots' of love

Cancer affects us all, whether you're a mother, son, friend, coworker, patient—or granddaughter, like Payton Kudron.

Payton Kudron and her gifts to Steppin' Out in Pink.

Payton, whose grandmother has survived breast cancer not once but twice, knows that a small act of kindness goes a long way.

"When my Grandma had surgery and was going through chemotherapy, I made her a fleece tie blanket with the breast cancer symbol on it. We had the nurses put the blanket on her bed so that when she woke up from surgery, she would have it with her. We wanted her to have something from us so she knew that we loved her and were thinking about her," says Payton who is an eighth-grader at Aquinas Middle School.

Payton knows just how much that blanket meant to her grandmother. "While she was in the hospital, everyone who entered her room commented on the blanket and how neat it was. I think it made my Grandma feel extra special," she says.

Payton recently donated nine fleece tie blankets to Gundersen Medical Foundation for breast cancer patients. Attached to each blanket, she added a tag with an inspirational saying, such as "Fight like a girl" "Be brave" and "We are praying for you."

"I thought it would be nice for other people battling breast cancer to have the same comforting blanket, so they knew that they were being thought about and cared about," says Payton.

"We could feel the warmth and compassion Payton has for breast cancer patients. What a wonderful way to honor her grandmother! The recipients of these blankets will know they were made with love…thank you, Payton," says Debbie Kroner, Gundersen Medical Foundation's associate director of Development-Special Events.

The blankets will be given to area breast cancer survivors and used at the Steppin' Out in Pink Survivor Breakfast.