One Little Blanket (Story)

I love to hear other people's experiences and what they are doing or how they found us and so on. I think that sharing helps with the healing. So I have a story for you today. I am a hairstylist and work in a salon part time. While at work a few weeks back, a woman came in to get her hair cut. She was a walk-in and was in a little bit of a hurry and I was lucky enough to have her sit in my chair. She needed her hair trimmed and styled and had somewhere to be and she just couldn't manage it. I could tell she was a little distressed. So I asked a few questions about her hair and then a few general "shoot the breeze" questions (ie: Are you from around here? Do you have any kids? blah blah blah) On my first question she answered she was not from around here but she was visiting her daughter. It didn't take any further questions and the sweet (in a hurry) woman opened the flood gates and told all. Her daughter was living here in Utah while her husband was working and going to school. She was pregnant with her second baby and things had not gone so well. The daughter had been in the hospital for over a week when they finally induced labor. You see her baby had died and she was only 25 weeks along. She continued to tell me how wonderful the staff at the hospital was and how delicately they handled the situation. Then she started to tell me about her little grandbaby and how they were allowed to hold the baby and how a professional photographer came in to take pictures for her daughter's family. The next thing she said made me stop dead in my tracks. She said that the hospital gave them a blanket for their baby and that it was handmade and donated by women in the community who have been through the same kind of loss. It was then that I asked her what hospital her daughter delivered at. Guess what... it was one of the hospitals we have taken blankets too. So I told her what we do and that this hospital was one we have donated too. She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of the blanket and I about died! It was one of our blankets. This sweet woman was getting ready to go to the graveside service of her precious little grandchild, that is why she was in a hurry. But I will never forget the look on her face and the tears of gratitude in her eyes. To know that someone has been helped and hopefully felt the love of these little blankets was so exciting. This woman told me to keep making blankets and to keep sending them to hospitals because they are greatly appreciated, even from the grandmothers of these tiny precious Angels. I love to hear stories and to receive feedback from others. I am so excited that these blankets are making a difference. I am sad that we need to use them but I am grateful for the inspiration that lead me to Angie and Neal's website and for them helping us to get started with the blankets project too. If you have a story you would like to share, or know of someone who wouldn't mind sharing their story, e-mail us at jjhaag5@yahoo.com and put "operation blanket drop" in the subject line. We would love to have other's stories posted here and we can keep names confidential if you like as well. Love: Jess and Joleen