TEMPLE, Texas — Baylor Scott and White McLane Children's hospital unveiled a new mural this morning honoring Central Texas philanthropist Allison Dickson.
It's full of bright colors and flashing lights, all the make the patient experience easier.
"Kids can find something familiar," Tina Ulanowski, Child Life Manager at McLane Children's Hospital said. "Kids can find something normalizing and comforting. It can decrease some of their nervousness or anxiety before a doctor's appointment or treatment."
That's exactly what Dickson was hoping for. She's the inspiration behind it all and spent many days staring at hospital walls.
Dickson was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy at 15 months old and died in Oct. of 2023.
For the last seven years, Dickson had put together an annual Holiday Gift Drive to help raise money for McLane Children's Hospital initiatives. Dickson provided patients with stuffed animals, mobile games and most recently her 2022 fundraiser allowed for a mural to be painted on the door and walls leading to the healing garden at the hospital.
Dickson expressed how she wanted the 2023 annual Holiday Gift Drive to benefit a mural being painted in the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Unit at McLane Children's. Allison felt children with sickle cell disease, hemophilia, or life-threatening diseases such as cancer should be greeted with lots of color and life.
The mural Dickson envisioned has now become a reality, and her friend Laura Palmer carried out Dickson's plans and continued to raise donations for the mural.
"She just had a heart of gold," Palmer said. "She constantly was raising money doing a bunch of different things. This hospital meant a lot to her, and she spent a lot of her childhood in and out of a hospital, so giving back just that was what Allison did. We as her friends, we just wanted to continue to honor that for her because she made such a difference in everyone else's lives."
Allison's favorite slogan is now on display at the mural: I don't need easy. I just need possible. The slogan is meant to give hope to those who may be in her shoes.
"It's how Allison lived her life. She doesn't need easy. Nothing came easy to Alison. Nothing stopped her. You just need possible and, and anything is possible when you put your heart to it," Palmer said.
To make a donation to the upcoming holiday drive, click here.
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