Loveland mom spoils moms at local hospitals

A Loveland mom and more than 50 volunteers will deliver special care packages to local hospitals this Mother’s Day weekend in hopes of bringing joy to mom’s who have to spend the holiday taking care of sick children.

“They’re in there worried, being a real mom, being a super mom and they need to be recognized,” said Sarah Portillo who started the idea on Facebook with a group called "Mother's Day Weekend 2016 Spoiling Supermom's."

Portillo said she knows what it’s like to spend Mother’s Day in the hospital, which is what inspired her to create the bags. Her daughter, Lily, suffers from a rare disease that requires 'round the clock care.

“I’ve been through it and I want to give to them the way I’ve been given to, and let them know they aren’t alone,” said Portillo.

With help from volunteers and corporate donations, Portillo has been able to raise more than $10,000 for the gift bags.

They will be filled with dozens of personalized items like handmade cards from kids, bright nail polish, and microwave plates because she said she knows firsthand how hard it can be to reheat food in the hospital.

“They can store their food in the fridge -- pop this lid on and it’s a vented lid -- and then throw it in the microwave,” she showed Denver7 reporter Jennifer Kovaleski.

Each item in the bag is gifted with thought from someone who’s been in their shoes.

“Those have pockets on the outside and those are nice for when let's say, their kiddo has a seizure at 3 in the morning and they have to run to the hospital,” explained Portillo.

In all, more than 130 gift bags will be surprise-delivered to moms at local hospitals.

Volunteers will hand them out at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora on Saturday and Poudre Valley Medical Center on Sunday.

“It feels really lonely to be going through that type of experience so I think what I want these mom’s to know is that, there is a way through it.”