Walter Reed Army Medical Center

My happy helper Michelle B. takes charge of the quilt cart on the 5th Floor

We spent the day with our wonderful escort Col. C. at WRAMC.

I arrived with almost 70 beautiful quilts and a few tote bags loaded with a quilt and girlie-smelling things for the female soldiers. We also brought letters for each soldier written by 4th and 5th graders from the Annapolis Area Christian School, the Naval Academy NAPS School, and the Calvary Chapel Christian school in Auburn, California. We read a letter to each soldier and provided an addressed return envelope so they could write the kids back.

Before we entered the building we met a female soldier who was blinded by an IED blast being pushed in a wheelchair by her friend. She was fairly outgoing and curious why we were there and what we were unloading out of my car. My friend Michelle who came to WR with me placed a quilt on her lap and the soldier stroked the quilt with her hands and loved it. As she was pushed away in her wheelchair we could hear her asking what color it was and she liked the softness and the feel of it.

We entered the hospital and began making the rounds around the main floor. The first room I entered was a Sgt. who had a reputation with the nurses for smoking way too much and giving them grief. The Sgt. had lost both legs in an IED blast. He had a big smile when we came in with quilts--he picked a brown plaid flannel one and covered himself up with it.

I entered another room and met a young man who had been hit by sniper fire in the stomach. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with bags and tubes attached, and his mom was sitting on the floor putting socks on his feet. He picked a red white and blue quilt, and teared up when we read the letter to him. His mom quietly mouthed the word thank you through more tears.

We walked to another ward and stopped to look over the list of soldiers. We noticed an older woman in front of the nurses station in her hospital bed, it looked like she was moved out of her room for a new view, she was quietly watching the activity whirl by. My friend Michelle noticed her and grabbed one of the female soldier bags and brought it to her bedside. The woman's face lit up and she smiled so big--the nurses rushed over to her and made a big deal out of her response, encouraging her to talk and respond more. They took a fuzzy pair of socks out of the bag and held them to her cheek, and she smiled more--then they placed the socks on her feet and covered her with a beautiful quilt with colorful pansies and little brown bunnies. I have never seen anyone smile so big! The nurses said it was her first day she agreed to come out of her room in a very long while.

We handed out most of the quilts and met some wonderful people and family members. Our escort decided to take us to a couple of areas that normally do not get visitors. Our last stop was the ICU. Our escort received permission to bring one of us in at a time--it was a very busy place with some very serious injuries. I had one quilt left, it was a big quilt with lots of green and deer and trees. We had held this one for someone special without knowing who that someone would be. I found him in the ICU. I stood in the doorway and saw a big strong muscular soldier in a hospital bed with tubes, wires, beeping monitors, his breathing assisted by a ventilator, swollen face, and a long incision from his sternum down past his waist. I spoke with his mom and she said today is the fist time he has been partially conscious--he had just been told that he had lost both of his legs in an IED blast. His mom held the quilt and said that he would love it because he loves the outdoors and loves to go hunting. I walked out with my eyes full of tears and such a heavy heart... I could feel that moms fear and pain for her son. We remained in the hall for a few minutes and my escort went back in and told the mom about some family resources that were available for her. She came out and walked with us to pick up some needed items and thanked us for stopping by. We thanked her for her son's service and sacrifice.