Pierre the Pancreas

Pierre the Pancreas with Rebecca Taylor and her brothers atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Pierre, the Pancreas has been a part of the Taylor family for a few years now. As you may know, Rebecca affectionately names her diseased organs. Pierre is her pancreas. Collin is her colon. Adam is her appendix. Stephen is her spleen. And Lucy is her small intestines (of course, Lucy does not fit the alliteration pattern, but Rebecca’s young cousin, Lydia, named it Lucy).

These names were born from the problem that ensued from discussing private medical issues in public. Rebecca was tired of the looks people gave her when giving us an update on her colon – I mean, what teenager wants her classmates to know about her colon issues? Instead, when her colon became Collin, her high school classmates thought she had a really mean boyfriend that kept misbehaving. I would not be surprised if someone secretly reported Collin to Bad Boyfriends Anonymous…

When Rebecca was hospitalized, a friend gave her a plush, stuffed pancreas. Yes, there exists a stuffed pancreas in this world – although I am not sure who thought there was a market for stuffed organs?? Of course, this pancreas was named after her lost pancreas – Pierre. And Rebecca, being the perpetual, ever-walking billboard for pancreas disease awareness, decided to tote Pierre with us everywhere she went. This became a tradition on all of our trips and significant life-events. But this tradition did stop with just Rebecca. Her other chronic pancreatitis friends received their own stuffed pancreases and are starting to take photos.

And now, I want to let you know that Pierre will become the new face (or toy) of pediatric pancreatitis.

Rebecca’s Wish plans to give our pancreatitis patients their own Pierre the Pancreas. The photos of Pierre will be posted on social media to raise awareness about this unrelenting disease, a disease many children suffer from, and yet, so little is known. Rebecca’s Wish intends to find a cure for pediatric pancreatitis with the help of Pierre – one photo at a time….

You can follow Pierre and his travels on our website and our social media platforms. We have even created a new Instagram channel for Pierre @pierrethepancreas. We intend to use Pierre to communicate and to educate as well as provide you with with a good dose of laughter.

Sincerely,

Christyn