A Higher Level of Giving
Date: February 23, 2004

In the health care industry, we focus so much of our efforts on the patient that we sometimes forget the lasting impression our care leaves with family members, friends and visitors.

And, it’s easy to forget that sometimes it is not the healing or the medical science that is remembered, but the small acts of compassion that, together, become a legacy of caring.

Such is the case with a Blanket of Love distributed to a terminally ill cancer patient who was being cared for in Floyd Medical Center’s Coronary Care Unit.

These blankets, quilts and afghans, handcrafted by a league of volunteers who will never know just how much their work means to the patients who receive them, are distributed to Floyd Medical Center patients who need an extra lift as they battle for their health.

The uses of the blankets are as varied as the people who receive them. They provide comfort to the hurting, security to those who fear and warmth to those who are cold.

But these squares of cloth and loops of yarn have an enduring quality about them that continues to minister long after the patient leaves Floyd Medical Center.

The letter came in an unassuming envelope, hand addressed in a light script.

The neatly typed note inside, dated January 28, was brief, but spoke volumes.

“I’m not sure to whom this should be addressed, but to whomever, it is sent with much gratitude and love. For you see, my husband was one of the recipients of the Blankets of Love made by the Floyd volunteers. He was chosen to receive it by the nurses in CCU during his last hospitalization while fighting lymphoma. Words cannot express the meaning this gift now holds and the love it conveys to me.

“Maimonides, an 11th century Jewish monk, once defined the levels of giving in ascending order. Truly, our Blanket of Love is from one of the higher levels of giving, i.e. the donor does not know the recipient, nor the recipient know the donor. I know not who lovingly gave their time to make it. They, in turn, do not know who today holds it and lovingly remembers a dear one being warmed by it before he died.

“With the conception and implementation of this wonderful program, Floyd shows not only care for the health but the heart as well.

“Thank you for your love and caring, Floyd Volunteers.

“Yours truly,

“Ann Brown (Mrs. David Brown)”

I have shared this letter with our volunteers, and now with a quilting guild that has agreed to make quilts for our patients. It is an honor to play even a small role in this program and a blessing to know that our patients and their families see that health care begins in the heart.

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