Patients at CoxHealth who served their country received a special gift on Veterans Day.
This reporter's mom and sister, Suzanne and Lisa Boyts, are part of a group of volunteers at CoxHealth that sew blankets and pillows for patients. They told her about a project they and the group were working on to honor veterans on Veterans Day.
The group spent hours over the course of three weeks making 17 quilts for veterans using patriotic fabric. The plan was to hand them out to patients who were hospitalized on Veterans Day. And Tuesday, they and a couple of volunteer veterans did just that.
Barbara Frogue is the admin director of volunteer services at CoxHealth.
"The quilts are a way to say thank you and show appreciation to veterans for their service," she said. "We want every veteran to know they are not alone and that the community stands beside them in their recovery."
The volunteers formed into teams of about three people each, got their assignments and headed out across Cox South, quilts in hand.
At one room, a sign outside the door proclaimed “This room is proudly occupied by an American hero.”
Inside, the patient was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the team, which consisted of two volunteers and CoxHealth volunteer coordinator Aaron Collins.
After they asked him which quilt he wanted and helped lay it over his legs, he pulled out his phone and shared a picture of himself in his Navy uniform.
As the group wished him happy Veterans Day, there were tears in his eyes.
