Summer Zeringue McCune’s career took an unexpected turn over the last year, but the Norco resident said she is honored that her art is now helping others.
McCune’s infant daughter Adler was diagnosed with a cow milk protein allergy as a newborn and as a result developed a bottle aversion and refused all feeds.
“I stumbled upon dream feeding, and that was the only way I fed her for months of her life,” she said of feeding Adler while the baby slept. “The idea of a pajama line came from the play on dream feeding. She now is averse to solids as well and it’s a constant battle. Medical professionals are stumped and she is in therapy weekly. For a long time, I felt completely alone in this battle with her because she would only allow me to feed her once she began to feed willingly.”
Prior to Adler’s diagnosis, McCune was the talented art teacher at Destrehan High School as well as the founder of NolaBee – a home décor business that showcased her hand-painted art. She recently decided to pivot the direction of NolaBee from décor to pajamas – with each design representing a different child and their diagnosis.
“Adler’s demands with her aversions and play therapy made it tough to be motivated and keep up with NolaBee as it was,” McCune said. “Listening to signs, I felt a strong pull to use my art in a more meaningful way. Facing the hard truth of having to resign, I decided that my company need to make a huge shift … one where it wasn’t as laborious on my end since I was caring for Adler’s demands and one that was more from the heart.”
NolaBee is now McCune’s full-time venture, and she said it has been extremely rewarding so far.
“We have hand painted patterns that are uniquely inspired from the stories of the pediatric patients we represent,” she said. “We hope to spark conversations through imagery and purposeful wording and provide a voice for those fighting medical battles.”
NolaBee donates a portion of the proceeds from each set of the bamboo pajamas that it sells, and McCune also has a spot on her website where people are invited to submit their children’s stories so that they can be represented in a future design.
“Maybe this is God’s plan … to do something more with my art and to raise awareness,” she said. “I’ve poured all of my energy into this and trusted in God’s plan.”
McCune said she will release a new set of pajamas each month. Several local children are included in the pajama line, including Anderson Carriere of Norco. McCune said his pajamas will be released towards the end of March.
Erika Beck Carriere, Anderson’s mom, said the design that McCune created for her 3-year-old son fits him perfectly.
“When I saw the design I was like, ‘This is so Anderson’s personality,’” Carriere said. “The colors she used are so bright and cheerful … it literally made me cry. She couldn’t have painted a better design for him. She is giving us an opportunity to open up and explain to people that he might look normal but he has a disability … but that won’t stop him.”
Anderson was born 100% deaf.
“We didn’t even know until he was born,” Carriere said of she and her husband Sam. “He had a virus that affects the ears, eyes, and organs. Immediately they put him on a cancer medicine that helped to save his eyesight and his organs. His sight and organs are perfect.”
Carriere said that the couple’s older son Rawlin is a main link between Anderson and the world.
“Rawlin is like his communicator,” she said. “They use sign language between each other, and Rawlin lets everyone know what Anderson needs.”
Initially Anderson’s diagnosis was jarring, Carriere admits.
“I felt like I was living in a fog … just living in a daze,” she said. “I was like, ‘Man … is he going to be successful? Is he ever going to hear me say I love you? Will he ever be able to play sports?’”
Anderson has received bilateral cochlear implants, and Carriere said progress has been slow but steady.
“They told us that it’s a 50/50 shot that they’ll work,” she said. “It seemed like good odds for us. We turned them on in March and they move up a volume once a month. We didn’t have the results we wanted at first we thought, but it is getting better.”
Carriere said she has known McCune for her entire life, and when McCune approached her about including Anderson in the awareness pajama line, she asked her what soothed Anderson in some of his toughest moments.
“It was always the song ‘You Are My Sunshine,’” Carriere said. “I used to hum it when he was a baby and even though he couldn’t hear me, he could feel me humming it.”
For more information on Anderson, NolaBee’s mission, or to purchase pajamas, visit nolabeemade.com.
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