Published April 23, 2020
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS Julia and Logan Pemberton were thrilled to raise $100 in donations by selling the eggs laid by their backyard chickens to support a grassroots intubation box campaign that protects healthcare workers. (Courtesy Photo)
NORTH READING — Brother and sister Logan and Julia Pemberton are a dynamic duo whose generosity is helping to save lives.
And it all started by raising backyard hens.
“They currently have three hens and are hoping to increase the flock. Three more will be joining the flock in the next few weeks,” notes their mom, Kristen.
“Together, with my husband, Rob, they birthed the chickens from eggs in an incubator last spring and started collecting eggs in the fall. They have been part of the whole process, from candling them for 21 days watching them grow, watching them hatch, caring for them under the heat lamp inside, building the coop for a scout project, and feeding, watering and caring for them daily,” she said.
Their reward? They get to collect the fresh eggs the hens lay which they and their neighbors enjoy.
After waiting for months, Logan, 13, and Julia, 10, were looking forward to collecting a couple of eggs each day and selling them by the half dozen.
But everything changed after the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
“A neighbor, Jenn Lamusta-Burnham, reached out for help,” Kristen explained. Jenn’s sister, Dr. Julie Lamusta-Tammaro, is an anesthesiologist who was looking for ways to keep frontline healthcare workers safe when intubating the sickest patients during this pandemic.
With the shortages of PPE’s, Dr. Tammaro searched the internet and came upon a polycarbonate box in use in Taiwan. She enlisted the help of her brother-in-law, Ian Brady, and together they created a modified version of the aerosol / intubation box designed by Dr. Lai Hsien-Yung. It is placed over the patient’s head and chest. It has arm cutouts behind the head for the doctor to insert her arms during the procedure as well as arm holes on the side for an assistant. The box is intended to keep the virus from spreading around a room during what is called “aerosol generating procedures,” such as intubation.
They found a manufacturer, enlisted volunteers, and started a gofundme account to help raise funds for their project. Each box costs about $200 to make and ship. Tammaro and Brady have raised over $48,000 toward their $60,000 goal.
Realizing how important it is to help protect the lives of the healthcare workers who are working hard and risking their own lives to save the lives of others, Julia and Logan knew what they wanted to do with the money they raised from selling their eggs.
“They decided to box up their eggs and ask for donations” toward this cause, their mom said.
To their surprise, they raised $100 in donations from selling their first two and half dozen eggs. And they sold out!
The kids were very impressed by the generosity of the town and now they’re looking forward to continuing to support the intubation box drive by selling more eggs produced by their backyard hens.
