Pillows designed to aid in breast surgery recovery

CEDAR RAPIDS — October is breast cancer awareness month, but breast cancer doesn’t follow a calendar.

Czech Feather & Down in southwest Cedar Rapids creates heart-shaped pillows to fit under the arm and ease the pain after any kind of breast surgery. It can be used while riding in a car, sitting at home, walking, shopping — or any time a little extra cushion is needed between the arm and the incision.

“That incision is right in here,” Brittany Schorg, who grew up in the woman-owned company said, demonstrating how the dip in the top of the heart pillow fits into the armpit. “A lot of women run into that rubbing aspect — or even just sitting, your arm sets against (the incision) and that can't be comfortable. So it basically lifts your arm up off of (the incision area) so you're not rubbing against it.

“It just gives that little extra protection, a little extra comfort.”

Ten of the pillows were given away during a recent breast cancer awareness initiative on radio’s nationally syndicated “Bob and Sheri” morning show.

It’s the third year the Cedar Rapids company has partnered with the radio hosts — thanks to Schorg initially answering a call that turned out to be an advertising pitch. She declined. But the breast comfort pillows piqued a producer’s interest, and he then offered her the chance to partner with the show by donating pillows for an October giveaway.

That was in 2021, and it’s not only benefited the winners, but has helped spread the word about the company, which generally relies on word-of-mouth and social media posts.

Dawn Schorg sews a pillow at Czech Feather and Down in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

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Dawn Schorg stuffs a pillow at Czech Feather and Down in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

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Brittany Schorg marks out heart shaped pillows with a template at Czech Feather and Down in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

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Specialty pillows are displayed at Czech Feather and Down in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

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History

Schorg, 31, of Cedar Rapids, is the fourth generation working to keep alive the Czech dying art of creating feather and down pillows and accessories by hand. Her mother, Dawn Schorg, 57, of rural Mount Vernon, bought the business from her mother, Cookie Vanous, who bought it from her aunt, Vera Vanous.

Previous Gazette articles trace its origins to around 1885, when Susan Griffith began making feather pillows and bedding in a shop along the Cedar River on First Street NW. She had no heirs, and the business died out in the 1950s. In 1958, Vera Vanous and husband Ed purchased a building along Ellis Boulevard NW, where they found the equipment from Griffith’s business. A seamstress, Vera revived the business.

It’s changed hands and locations over the years, with shops in Czech Village, Mount Vernon and Hiawatha, before recently moving into an 1,800-quare-foot building at 5907 16th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids, where owner Schorg, her husband, daughter and son keep alive this piece of their Czech heritage.

Health aspects

In addition to the heart-shaped pillow, the Schorgs also create a full-chest pillow to offer a cushion between the wearer and the cross-body strap on a vehicle’s seat belt. They also make a CPAP pillow that has side cutouts to allow space for the mask if the wearer moves into a side position while sleeping.

And of course, they make pillows in bed- and travel sizes in various levels of firmness, depending on the number of handfuls of feathers and/or down they place inside.

“When you think of a pillow, you don't necessarily think of the medical aspect of it, but it really is a big aspect,” Dawn Schorg said.

She noted that her mother once created a down wrap for a man who tore up his arm in a chain saw accident, and couldn’t stand to have any pressure on the wound. The wrap also helped keep the arm warm.

Someone else may need a pillow to prop under a knee in bed, or use a body pillow to alleviate pressure, or need the properties of a feather pillow to help with spinal alignment during sleep.

“I have to say, it makes you feel really good when somebody calls and it's like, ‘Oh my goodness, that helps so much.’ It makes you feel good that you can help somebody or contribute something that helps them in their comfort a little bit,” Dawn Schorg said. “We've all had situations where maybe not as severe as somebody else, but where you need that extra (cushion). ...

“A pillow can do a lot for you.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com