After their son’s passing at the QEII, Dave and Patti Lepper collected blankets made in Matt’s memory, donating them to the QEII’s ICU to help other families experience the same warm hug as their family did. CONTRIBUTED
Family creates and collects blankets for critical care patients
It was the most difficult situation any family could experience. On Sept. 30, 2025, family members were gathering to say goodbye to Matt Lepper, a father, brother and son. Suffering from end-stage liver disease, Matt had been transferred by Life Flight from Moncton to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax 24 hours earlier.
“We got the call telling us he’d had a significant bleed, and they didn’t think he was going to make it,” Matt’s sister, Melanie Lepper recalls. “They had exhausted all of their capabilities in Moncton, but we didn’t want to have any what ifs.”
Just 37 years old, following further discussions with his family, Matt was transitioned to a comfort-based approach to care, and his three children — ages 10, nine and four — made the trip to see him, wanting to spend a cherished moment with their father one last time.
“We all agreed to take him off the machines and give the children a chance to have a moment with him,” Melanie says.
Dr. Sarah McMullen is a critical care physician at the QEII’s ICU, and was part of the team that cared for Matt. She points out that the presence of family members is a vital component of patient care in the ICU.
“They provide a familiar touch point and advocate for the patient,” she says. “Family members are often present when we do our rounds, and we have a fairly unrestricted visitor policy.”
In preparing the room for the children’s visit, a staff member placed a knitted blanket over Matt. When the children entered the room there was a flameless candle burning and soft music playing.
“It just looked like he was sleeping,” Melanie remembers.
Somebody mentioned that the blanket would be a lovely keepsake to remember Matt by, but there were only a few such blankets on the unit. Matt’s mother likes to crochet and knit, and so she hit on the idea of creating an abundance of hand-knitted blankets that family members in similar circumstances could take home in memory of a loved one.
“Matt could always light up a room, and he was a big hugger,” Melanie recalls. “So, we thought it would be very fitting that family members could take home something that gave them comfort and warmth.”
They posted the idea on social media and the response was immediate. More than 50 blankets were delivered to the ICU in early March, and people are still making them, Melanie says. A tag sewn into each blanket reads: “A hug in memory of Matt.” In addition to blankets people are donating yarn and money.
“People we didn’t even know were dropping off blankets,” Melanie adds.
Dr. McMullen was deeply moved when she learned of the blanket initiative by the Lepper family.
“I always find it incredible when families who go through that can continue to act with compassion toward others,” she says. “That strength of character is remarkable.”
While patient survival is the over-arching goal in the ICU, not every outcome is the desired outcome. The QEII’s Three Wishes Project is designed to improve and humanize the end-of-life experience for patients and their families in the ICU.
“We want family members to have some positive memories from what is a difficult time,” Dr. McMullen explains. “We try to gain an understanding of the patient beyond their illness, so the wishes are about what is important to them.”
In 2019, with support from the Three Wishes Project, care teams at the ICU initiated Teddy Bears with Heart, where a recording of a patient’s heartbeat is inserted into a teddy bear and then given to a family member. It provides a tangible, lasting keepsake for loved ones — especially children — to hold dear. These programs, supported by generous donations through the QEII Foundation, help improve the end-of-life experience for patients and their families.
Each of Matt’s children received one of the teddy bears, and Matt’s obituary included an appeal for donations in his name to the Three Wishes Project.
Besides honouring Matt’s memory, the blankets are also a gesture of appreciation for the care the family received at the QEII, Melanie points out.
“From the moment we arrived at the ICU we were very well taken care of,” she says. “They did everything they could do to make this horrible situation just a little bit more bearable. It was like having arms wrapped around us.”
