Bunny Boy and Me

“A fascinating and heartwarming story [that will] resonate with people who suffer from chronic pain and who love animals . . . I am inspired by [Laracy’s] emotional depth in relating to [Bunny Boy] and his perception and response to her needs.”—Jan Chambers, President, National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association

When the rug is pulled under from Nancy Laracy, a busy wife and mother of two who is diagnosed with a mixed connective tissue disease and fibromyalgia in her mid-thirties, she rebelliously adopts a baby red satin rabbit, Bunny Boy. So begins a deep, magical, and lifelong bond, where Bunny Boy and Nancy become inseparable companions in pain management.

As Nancy battles her debilitating chronic pain, Bunny Boy is diagnosed with a similar incurable autoimmune disease, developing a severe jaw abscess. Despite the fact that bunnies are known for succumbing to their fear and pain during medical treatment, Bunny Boy fights through countless surgeries with the heart of a lion, even helping to pioneer a cutting-edge medical treatment that, once made available to humans, would save Nancy’s life.

Despite Bunny Boy’s illness, he lives boldly with joie de vivre without a care for his pain, gamboling about the house where he runs free. As they grow closer in sickness and in health, Bunny Boy shows Nancy how to reclaim her own zest for life and overcome her disease, as well as dozens of other patients in a rehabilitation center when he becomes a therapy rabbit.

A poignant story of resiliency, deep love, and faith in miracles, Bunny Boy and Me is a heartwarming tale of the unluckiest, luckiest rabbit who defied the odds and made a difference.

Nancy Laracy is a writer, activist, wife, and mom who suffers from autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia. Since being diagnosed in 1997, she is a worldwide advocate and resource for the chronic pain and pet therapy community, serving on animal assisted therapy organizations, the National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association, and many others. She has implemented bunny therapy programs for children with cancer through CancerCare, as well as for the families of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. Nancy lives in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
Cheryl Welch, VMD was a veterinarian, earning a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. She started Franklin Lakes Animal Hospital in 1996. She died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer. Donations in her name can be made to the Lustgarten Foundation (www.lustgarten.org).