Happy New Year 2012

The whole wonderful year stretches out. I have not pissed someone off, hurt someone feelings or anything negative at all.

I wanted to share a letter with you all I received when requesting a destination for a Quilt Of Valor. I plan on supporting them this year as my main donation place. I hope to garner support from my wonderful local Quilt Guild for blocks. I can put them together in quilts easily.

We have a very important destination that needs constant filling. Paul, who is with one of the National Guard units working to medevac wounded soldiers out of the war zones, made the request and this is what he said when making the request:

1) most of the blanket are wool green ones and are good for many things, but not for warm dog-in-your-lap comfort (many of our wounded are tough birds, but many of them have commented to me about how awesome it was to have such a blanket to put their arms over and/or lean up against). No matter what our patient's situations, I think their psyche is 10 x more stressed about things in their situation. It is hard to explain, but their role as a military patient is full of uncertainty, waiting, pain, more waiting, longing for home, etc. Most of them are tough, hardened, etc., but they usually love the love and somehow those blanket do it for them much of the time.

2) we often run out of blankets for patients...we may have enough for them (or we may have pts. added onto our mission at a stop, and then we run out), but at times heaters malfunction or parts of the plane are hot and part cold, so one isn't enough very often. Even on training missions that are 2 hours out of Charlotte, I have been cold to the point of shivering while laying on a litter acting the part of a patient...these planes are cargo planes and not ideal for our countries today heroes

3) if Uncle Sam provided them, and they were the same blankets, they would not be looked at the same. When I gave out blankets to patients and they knew they were from someone in the U.S., (usually red, white and blue; some hand-made; some with paint hand prints; some with "We love you back home" written or sewed on), they loved them for that reason alone...someone made this / bought this for us and they like that.