KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Northland mother wanted to do something special for her son after he had a major health scare, leaving him confined to a hospital bed for months.
Judy Morris said her goal was to ensure her son, Randy McSween, had something to look forward to when he gets better and a little something to open on his birthday since he’s spending it away from home.
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Morris has spent much of her life surrounded by Randy's love for Pokémon.
“He loved Pokémon, he just loved being around people,” she said.
Randy contracted a UTI and COVID back in February.
He was then prescribed a medication he’d never been on before.
“Found out that he was severely allergic to it, and it sent him into cardiac arrest,” Morris said.
Morris said it was "very scary" and has been a roller coaster ever since. Randy lost a lot of mobility and went into kidney failure.
“It was up and down. Up and down,” she said.
She remembers one of the first times he spoke since getting sick.
“He was like, 'I love you.' He said, 'I love you, too,'” she recalled.
But the one thing that has always lifted Randy's spirits — Pokémon.
Morris wanted to decorate Randy's wall with Pokémon cards for his birthday. Although he has many cards of his own, she didn’t have enough to cover his wall. Thus, she took to Facebook to ask for help.
“I've been getting, as you see, daily deliveries," she said. "Morning, afternoon, evening. I wake up in the morning, there's a package."
Morris said they’ve received more than 30 packages so far, including one from across the world.
“I even got one from Sasebo, Japan,” Morris said. “I just can't put it into words because the love that I feel for Randy, he's getting it from strangers.”
Randy will spend his birthday in rehab, but he’ll be surrounded by love and Pokémon cards.
“Everything that Randy is doing, he was told he couldn’t, and for him to go through what he's going through now only tells me his strength,” Morris said.
Morris said she’s saving some packages to open with him on his birthday, May 1. She also said he knows his Pokémon wall will be waiting for him when he gets home.
Anyone who would like to send a card to Randy can reach Morris on Facebook at the name Judy Newman.
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