Concord boutique sells bows to support teen battling rare autoimmune disease

CONCORD, N.C. — A Concord boutique is raising money for a local family by selling handmade “Ruthie Prayer Bows” in support of 17-year-old Ruthie O’Brien, who is recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome and a brain injury after a cardiac arrest.

Ruthie O’Brien is paralyzed and fighting a rare autoimmune disease.

Channel 9’s Miana Massey learned that at Frankie J’s Boutique in Concord, each of the handmade bows comes with a prayer for Ruthie O’Brien.

“It’s like Ruthie. It’s special, it’s pretty, it’s sassy, and it just represents Ruthie, and we can call them the Ruthie Prayer Bows,” said Tammy Auten, Frankie J’s Boutique owner.

Concord boutique sells bows to support teen battling rare autoimmune disease “Ruthie Prayer Bow”

The boutique is selling them to raise money for her family.

This month, Ruthie would have been starting her senior year at Mount Pleasant High School.

She is a cheerleader, a track athlete, and, according to her father, a huge Taylor Swift fan.

“I’ve got one of the bows on here,” said Sean O’Brien, Ruthie’s father. “It’s got the ‘I love you’ sign on it, which is really cool because that’s something that Ruthie and I always did.”

In February, Ruthie O’Brien developed Guillain-Barré syndrome. She spent a month being treated at Levine Children’s Hospital.

In May, lingering complications triggered a cardiac arrest that left her with a brain injury.

“Our faith is very strong, so we wake up every day in expectancy that we are going to see a miracle,” said Sean O’Brien.

Ruthie O’Brien has been back at the hospital for more than three months. She communicates through blinking because she is unable to move her body.

“At the end of the day, we see her and what she’s doing and how she’s overcoming things and the progression that she’s making,” her father said. “And that’s really what fuels us, because she’s the true champion of it all.”

The boutique has raised about $1,700.

“The O’Briens are an amazing family,” Auten said. “To know them is to love them, and just knowing what they are going through, anything we can do to help is what I want to do.”

The community continues to wrap its arms around the family.

“Everyone, it seems like, in the community has been trying to find a way to help and to support,” Sean O’Brien said. “That’s really what makes Concord and Mount Pleasant so great to me.”

The boutique will keep making and selling the bows while Ruthie recovers.

If you’d like to buy a bow or donate, Frankie J’s Boutique is at 970 Branchview Dr. Northeast in Concord.

The suggested donation is $5, and all the money goes directly to Ruthie’s family.