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New Children's Hospital Chapel Offers Peace To Families

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A brand new chapel inside the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital offers a place for patients and families to find peace.

The Quinn Seymour Chapel is named after an 8-month-old girl who died fighting a rare and painful skin disorder with no cure.

Quinn Seymour suffered from Epidermolysis bullosa, or EB, a rare and painful genetic skin disorder that has no cure.

Her parents Marc and Mandy, and big brother Camden, moved from Ohio to Minnesota so Quinn could be a part of a trial to help find a cure.

Marc Seymour described how the hospital became like home for eight months.

"People would tell us 'Oh, you're so strong,' and we would say 'No, we're just taking care of our daughter,'" Marc Seymour said.

Quinn Seymour endured painful bandage changes and treatments for her entire life.

"The only reason I think her death is worse is because I don't get to see her smiles anymore," Marc Seymour said.

Quinn passed away in 2012, and her family spent the next four years raising funds to help build a chapel where other families could find some sense of peace.

"We do want the folks that are forced to be here like we were to be able to have a space where they can get away from all of it for a minute and regain their own strength," Marc Seymour said.

The Seymours raised $500,000.

The hospital held an opening ceremony for the chapel on Saturday that included family, friends, patients and hospital staff that were all instrumental in building the chapel.

The long journey to the chapel is not one the Seymours would have chosen, but they have a purpose.

"We know, we are incredibly confident that we are exactly where we are meant to be," Mandy Seymour said.

Designed for people of all ages, the chapel is a place for people of all faiths, anyone in need of peace, reflection and most importantly, hope.

Hospital chaplains researched how to best make the chapel feel comfortable for children and adults.

The chapel incorporates many themes of nature and includes some religious aspects.

"Quinn's daily life was brutal," Marc Seymour said. "It was filled with pain, anguish of baths and bandage changes that lasted 2-4 hours."

Still, her life brought hope and love to the Seymour family that they now hope to pass on to others.

"Day after day she smiled at us and she kept on fighting," Marc Seymour said.

The Seymours continue to be active volunteers with the children and families at the hospital on the same floor where Quinn spent her time being treated.

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