Hope To The Front Lines

This past week we received this note from a nurse in Wisconsin who volunteered to work on an oncology unit at a local hospital:

 

Albums of Hope,
I had the honor of giving patients at the hospital where I work an Albums of Hope package. They were delighted to receive it and the following are some of their stories.

The first is a 78-year-old patient that was transferred from another hospital about two hours away and had been admitted the night before I met her. She had recently been diagnosed with gastric (stomach) cancer and had a large tumor that needed to be removed but she wasn’t a good surgical candidate. “Mary” was overwhelmed, alone and scared. After lunch I peeked in on her and noticed that she was crying. Since I was an extra pair of hands on the unit that day, I had time to spend with Mary and really listen. I gave her the Album of Hope. We looked through the album together and each talked about a memory that each picture or saying brought to us. We cried and laughed together and when it was time for me to go home for the day, she looked at me and said “I think the Lord sent me an angel today”. I gave her a big hug, washed my hands and walked out of her room, tears of gratitude streaming down my face. It was a good day for both of us!

The next day, I gave out a couple more albums. One was to a patient that didn’t speak much English but he spoke enough to thank me for the package. Several days later I saw him walking in the halls and he stopped me and thanked me for the wonderful gift. “God bless you” he said as he walked away.

Another patient was sitting in her room looking out the window with a frown on her face. I asked if I could give her a little something. I entered her room and gave her the Album of Hope package. She opened it immediately and flipped through the album. She stopped on a photo of hot air balloons. She said she loves hot air balloons and always wanted to ride in one but is afraid of heights. However, she loves to look at them and listen to the whooshing sound they make when they pass by. She thanked me for the gift and I wished her a good day. I noticed later when I passed by her room the photo of the hot air balloons was open on her bedside table.

I wanted these albums to bring a smile, joy, or some happiness to the patients that received them but I think the experience brought smiles, joy, and some happiness to this nurse, too!

 

This story is one of many that has been shared with us recently, and we are so thankful to hear the positives. Each Album of Hope is signed with an inspirational message. I am attaching a picture of some Hope messages that we use in our albums.