A tiny duck left his home in Pediatric Laboratory Services and is visiting staff throughout Mayo Clinic. His journey is making staff smile — and will help pediatric patients learn how their blood samples are processed. 

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Maja Kirby and her colleagues have a unique line item in their budget.

"We have a quacky duck budget," says Kirby, a phlebotomist in Pediatric Laboratory Services.

The funds are used to purchase two-inch rubber ducks, which Kirby and her colleagues hand out to their young patients.

The different types of ducks — think eagle-duck, sparkly pink-duck, police officer-duck — have proven popular.

"Some of the kids collect them," Kirby says. "Especially the oncology kiddos who are going through treatment. They really look forward to them."

Recently, she and her team received a collection of their own: A patient's parent gave them a flock of even tinier ducks, which the team hid around Mayo 16 for patients to spot during their appointments.

Then Lucia Sem thought even bigger.

What if the team sent one of the tiny ducks on a journey like Flat Stanley — a book character familiar to many children — might take?

The team embraced the idea, sending a duck they named Lorenzo off to Central Processing one Friday in June with a note:

The note, which included Kirby's email address, encouraged staff to send photos of Lorenzo on the move.

The team's hopes were not high initially. "We kind of figured he would stay in Central Processing," Kirby says.

But on Monday, her inbox revealed that staff understood the assignment.

"I think I had emails from six different places Lorenzo had been that weekend," Kirby says. "I forwarded the emails to everyone here on Mayo 16, and it was so joyful. We've had so much fun, and everybody seems to be having fun with him, too."

Lorenzo's adventures have continued. And so have the team's plans for him.

"I'm planning on creating a display on the walkway where the kids come through to show them parts of Lorenzo's journey, and how their blood samples go on a similar journey," Kirby says. "They see us but don't always see the other staff involved in the process."

Turns out even little peeps can make big contributions.

More than words

For a peek at where Lorenzo has visited so far, view the slideshow below: