Girl battling cancer receives special message from workers outside window

(USA Today/YouTube)


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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A pair of construction workers in Missouri took a break from welding to construct a special message for a little girl who'd been watching them every day from her window across the way.

At just 2 1/2 years old, little Vivian Keith is locked in a battle for her life. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia — cancer of the blood and bone marrow that impacts white blood cells — last winter, according to USA Today.

Because of her cancer, Vivian's body was unable to fight off infection and she had to spend a lot of time in isolation on the ninth floor of the St. Louis Children's Hospital. If she wanted to see what was happening in the world outside her room, she had to take to the window.

Vivian quickly became enthralled with the construction happening on the building across the street, and made it a daily tradition to wave to the workers who showed up each day.

"Every morning we woke up and waved to them," Vivian's mom, Ginger Keith, told USA Today. "We had to wave until somebody waved back."

Two of those construction workers, Travis Barnes and Greg Combs, looked forward to Vivian's daily greeting. The men decided to return the gesture and do something special for the little girl in the window, USA Today reported.


I was thinking about my own kids and how precious life is. It makes me happy that something so simple like that could make somebody's day better.

–Greg Combs, construction worker


One day, when Vivian went to the window, she noticed something spectacular: A giant message, "Get Well Soon," was scrawled across one of the beams at the construction site.

"I was thinking about my own kids and how precious life is," Combs said. "It makes me happy that something so simple like that could make somebody's day better."

As soon as Vivian was able to leave isolation, she received a visit from her new friends, according to USA Today. Combs and Barnes brought her gifts and exchanged hugs — something that made Vivian's day, according to her mother.

"It was amazing," Keith said. "It was just an amazing day for her. I thank them so much for making Vivian's visit so much better."

As for Barnes, he'll always be inspired by the little girl in the room with the view.

"It touches you," he said. "It sets you back for a minute. You realize how good your own life is."

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