Now, what began as a small endeavor with an initial goal of just a few hundred books, has blossomed into a cause quickly growing in size and scope, with more than 4,000 books donated to the Medical City children’s library and new branches open or planned at Medical Center of Plano and Methodist Children’s Hospital of South Texas in San Antonio.

The Kearneys hope to one day branch out to other facilities including shelters, and have thought about creating their own nonprofit.

“We like to say it’s Abby in action,” said Mary Kearney. “I feel like she’s just driving the process. We have been truly humbled by the kindness of strangers.”

The success of the initiative is testament to the story of the Kearneys’ young daughter, who died in May 2008 after a brief illness caused by a non-vaccine strain of pneumococcal meningitis. Despite having taken every precaution, including vaccinating Abby with Prevnar, which protects infants from seven of 91 strains of the virus, the Kearneys lives were upturned when their daughter’s illness was brought on by a common bacterium.

To bring some amount of comfort to their daughter while she lay in the hospital, the Kearneys surrounded her with what she loved: books. At just over a year old, Abigail was seemingly more interested in flipping through the pages of her favorite book, Counting Colors by Roger Priddy, than she was playing with toys.

After her death, the Kearneys found solace in memorializing their daughter through what made her happiest. In the months following, they began work on Abby’s Book Corner to provide books for other families with ailing children.

After its launch at Medical City last spring, the library has garnered attention from all corners of North Texas. Since the library’s opening, the Kearneys have been contacted by families who have benefited from the library.

“We’ve heard from two people who’ve had their children hospitalized and they told us how the books benefited them,” Mary said. “We had one mother write us, her daughter has cerebral palsy and had a procedure and was in the hospital in a lot of pain. One of the volunteers came in with the book cart and she found her favorite book on there. It was the first time she’d smiled the whole time she had been there.”

Help has come from across the community. Vacation Bible School students at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church collected more than 400 books for the library last summer and Cistercian Preparatory School students also lent a hand by donating nearly 500 books. St. Mark’s School of Texas, St. Patrick’s Catholic School and Ursuline Academy are also involved with the cause, and Las Colinas-based Buchanan Technologies contacted the family to host a book drive.

“Several people did birthday parties where they asked for books in lieu of gifts and then they donated them to us,” Mary said. “There was a lady who came over this weekend with several bags of books who found us on the Internet. It has been really amazing to us that all these people want to take part. We’re just overflowing with books.”

The cause also caught the attention of Preston Hollow resident and former first lady Laura Bush, who donated a copy of Read All About It! to the library. Texas first lady Anita Perry has also donated to the cause and first lady Michelle Obama wrote the Kearneys a letter recognizing their efforts.

The Kearneys hosted a book-stamping event Jan. 1 at The Purple Cow restaurant to prepare all new donations for use in Abby’s Book Corner around the state. The Preston Royal Village restaurant has been a big support to the Kearneys, serving as a drop-off point for books and helping to publicize the cause. A book drive was held in November at stores around the shopping center to gather donations for Abby’s Book Corner.

Last month, the Kearneys found themselves at Medical City Hospital again when their daughter Victoria Abigail, who was born last winter, came down with a case of Croup. While there Medical City volunteers brought books from the book corner for Victoria to read, proof of her elder sister’s legacy.

“It was very difficult to go back to that hospital,” Mary said. “But the best feeling in the world was walking out of that hospital with her. Because the last time we were there, we didn’t leave with Abby.”

The Kearneys will travel to Houston where they will be recognized by Meningitis Angels. The group collected books and will make a monetary donation to the Medical City Foundation in the Kearneys’ honor.

“We just are grateful to have the opportunity to share Abby’s story with other people,” Mary said. “That’s what is most gratifying for us.”

“The end result is that [Abby’s Book Corner] brings some sense of normalcy to the family that has to watch their kid be really, really sick,” Will said. “In some way, maybe it’ll make them feel that they’re back at home.”

MORE INFO

Visit abbysbookcorner.com

Willandmarykearney.blogspot.com

Or twitter.com/abbysbookcorner

Allison Wisk is the editor of North Dallas and Park Cities neighborsgo and can be reached at 214-977-8172 or via e-mail at awisk@neighborsgo.com. Got a story, photo or video you'd like to share? Post them directly on neighborsgo.com. Got a story idea? Send it to me directly. For more about how neighborsgo.com works with our neighborsgo print editions, please visit neighborsgo.com/help.