Health & Wellness
Encouragement of our patients at Memorial can be found in many forms, but perhaps two of the most beautiful and colorful come directly from members of our community.
Stitch by stitch – made with love!
When Covid stay-at-home orders first came about, 17-year-old Chloe Ballard jumped on YouTube and TikTok to look for something new and fun to learn. She quickly mastered crocheting and began crafting up some cute critters.
Her mother, Stephanie, a nurse on the Memorial Surgery team, loved seeing the reactions to her creations. Inspiration took over and she suggested Chloe make some to donate. Chloe loved the idea and together, they knew just what to do!
This energetic teenager’s new skill is now putting a smile on the faces of pediatric patients at Memorial.
Chloe crafts different sized animals for our smallest patients as they enter into a surgical procedure. Each pediatric patient is able to choose their favorite friend and keep them by their side for moral support.
Chloe’s creations can take anywhere from 30 minutes to seven hours and in total she has crocheted over 100 animals – ranging from bees and octopuses, to cats, cows, and ducks. Each one created and stitched with well wishes.
Quilting for a cause!
For Kathy and Dave Klug, their hobbies have always been fueled by beauty and precision. Kathy first began quilting when she was 17 years old. Over 50 years and countless quilts later, Kathy still enjoys pairing her love of math with her creativity to design beautiful works of art.
Her husband, Dave, who spent years perfecting his love of woodworking, has now joined in and together they are quilting for a great cause – lap quilts for the patients of our Cancer Center who are battling one of life’s toughest fights.
Together, they spend at least an hour a day in their sewing room refining their chosen styles of quilting – Dave with his long-arm quilting machine and Kathy with her traditional sewing machine. Their gorgeous works of art are displayed at Journeys, the Memorial Gift Shop dedicated to our cancer patients. Each patient going through oncology treatments is able to select their own complimentary handcrafted quilt – created with love and encouragement.
Thank you, Chloe, Kathy, and Dave, for being an inspiration to all of us!
