'Like a warm hug': Sugarcreek girl raises money to purchase NillyNoggins for children

Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter
·4 min read

SUGARCREEK ‒ Thanks to the fundraising efforts of a 10-year-old girl from Sugarcreek, 15 children will be able to wear a NillyNoggin while undergoing a specific medical procedure at Akron Children's Hospital.

What is a NillyNoggin?

It is a head-covering for a patient to wear while undergoing an electroencephalogram, which measures the electrical activity in the brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp. NillyNoggins are cotton and knit and come in a wide range of colors, prints and patterns.

Sofia Slemmer, daughter of Heather and Lee Slemmer of Sugarcreek, sold packets of hot chocolate last year, raising $826, enough to buy 15 NillyNoggins for the children at the hospital. A fifth-grader at Miller Avenue Elementary in Sugarcreek, Sofia has epilepsy and travels frequently to the hospital to get an electroencephalogram.

Heather Slemmer and her daughter, Sofia, 10, at their home in Sugarcreek. Sophia has epilepsy and uses a special head covering called a NillyNoggin when at the hospital for an EEG, or electroencephalogram.
Heather Slemmer and her daughter, Sofia, 10, at their home in Sugarcreek. Sophia has epilepsy and uses a special head covering called a NillyNoggin when at the hospital for an EEG, or electroencephalogram.

"As a 10-year-old, you're worried about people looking at you," said Sofia's mother Heather Slemmer. "You've got all this gauze on your head and all of these wires. People are in and out of your room. I think it just helps her feel not self-conscious wearing it. It helps keep everything together, and leads aren't being pulled off. They're not having to come back in and glue stuff on. But it also kind of makes you forget that you have all the wires on."

Sofia said wearing the NillyNoggin makes her happy. "It keeps all the wires out of my face."

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'Totally random seizure' was first sign of epilepsy

She was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2021. "It was a totally random seizure. We have no family history. She's never had any issues," Heather said. "One day she just totally blanked out. She couldn't talk. She could move. She was aware, but she couldn't speak.

Artwork is seen on the walls in the Slemmer home in Sugarcreek.
Artwork is seen on the walls in the Slemmer home in Sugarcreek.

"We came across the NillyNoggins through our support group online," Heather said. "Her last EEG in October of 2023, she was there for 24 hours. Everybody was obsessed. They'd never seen them before. They're like, that's the coolest thing. It just helps keeps the wires on her head, helps her from getting tangled up. We were sitting there talking, and she was like, 'Mom, I'd like to do this for other kids. We should get some for other kids.'"

One day, while they were baking, Sofia came up with the idea of Cocoa for a Cause to raise money to purchase the garments. She took a cone, poured cocoa into a cellophane bag, added sprinkles, peppermints and chocolate chips and then twist tied them. She sold the bags for $2 a piece, starting in November.

"We went to craft shows, and we listed them on Facebook," Sofia said.

She got all of the orders ready and then delivered them to customers throughout the area, including Dover, New Philadelphia, Uhrichsville, Strasburg and Millersburg.

"It's a nice little packet. Who doesn't like hot chocolate? It's like a warm hug. It's kind of what the NillyNoggins do, just kind of make you feel good to wear it when you have to go through that testing," Heather said.

Heather Slemmer and her daughter, Sofia, 10, at their home in Sugarcreek. Sophia made and sold hot chocolate bags last year and used the proceeds to purchase NillyNoggins for other children under going testing at the hospital.
Heather Slemmer and her daughter, Sofia, 10, at their home in Sugarcreek. Sophia made and sold hot chocolate bags last year and used the proceeds to purchase NillyNoggins for other children under going testing at the hospital.

When Sofia came for her appointment with Dr. Chinasa Nwankwo in Akron Children’s Neurology Department on Jan. 31, she brought along a monetary donation to purchase NillyNoggins.

“Sofia had recently completed an EEG in our epilepsy monitoring unit and brought a NillyNoggin from home,” said Dr. Nwankwo, a pediatric epilepsy specialist. “She later decided that she wanted to give back in some way so she created the Cocoa for a Cause fundraiser to buy more NillyNoggins to donate to the epilepsy monitoring unit.”

Sofia continues to lead an active life

Having epilepsy has not slowed Sofia down. She plays volleyball and is a member of a traveling softball team, the Lady Pumas out of New Philadelphia. In addition, she raises goats, chickens and turkeys as a 4-H project for the Tuscarawas County Fair. She said she hopes to become a college softball player.

Sofia is done selling cocoa for the moment, but she'll probably start again in October or November.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Sugarcreek girl's Cocoa for a Cause will help young hospital patients