They didn't know little Cecilia Cichan, but after yesterday, they consider her a friend.
Today, they'll play with the toys she gave them.
Stuffed bears, dogs, tigers and mice, Barbie dolls, Cabbage Patch Kids and baby dolls flooded the playroom at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in North Philadelphia.
The toys were only a fraction of gifts from Cecilia, the lone survivor of a plane crash on Aug. 16 in Detroit that killed 156 people, including her immediate family.
Cecilia gave away most of the 19,000 toys that flooded the University of Michigan Burn Center, where she has been hospitalized since the crash.
Some of Cecilia's toys were also delivered to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and others are expected soon at St. Mary's Villa for Children in Ambler, Montgomery County, a treatment center for emotionally disturbed children.
Two other truckloads headed for hospitals in Phoenix, Ariz., and Detroit.
"I think she is a very nice little girl," said one small boy at St. Christopher's, cradling a new stuffed animal from Cecilia.
The plane crash that Cecilia survived was explained in vague terms to the handful of sick children who tore at a huge box in the center of their bright playroom. The toys, somebody explained, were gifts of love.
"One of the therapists said to the kids, 'There was this little girl who was in a bad accident and needed a lot of care. When she was in the hospital, she received so much love and so many toys that she wanted to share her love and her toys with them,' " said St. Christopher's spokeswoman Terese Vekteris.
Meanwhile, toys continue to arrive at the Michigan hospital, where Cecilia remains in good condition following her fourth, and hopefully final, skin graft, said hospital spokesman Mike Harrison.
"She's in great spirits, laughing and playing," Harrison said. "She's in a wheelchair because of her broken leg, but she goes to the playroom a lot."
Laughter also filled the bright playroom at St. Christopher's, where the children gathered to collect their presents.
Its sunny walls adorned with children's art, the room was lined with dozens of dolls and stuffed animals.
Some lunged for their dream toys; others hesititated shyly.
"One little boy picked out a white rabbit bigger than he was," said Vektaris. "He didn't say much, he just pointed when we asked him which one he wanted."
