All together, each patient received about $150 worth of healthy food, but for people like patient Paul Dollar of Bogalusa, the real value of the gesture was less tangible.
“It’s awesome,” Mr. Dollar said. “I’ve got a friend of mine; he’s kind of enclosed, and I don’t have much in the way of Thanksgiving stuff to do, either. So I thought I’d come out and do something a little special for both me and him, so we both don’t have to be alone for Thanksgiving.”
He added: “Cancer kind of makes people realize what’s important.”
It wasn’t just patients expressing gratitude at Monday’s event. So were the cancer center employees who volunteered to load up cars.
“We love when we can spend extra time doing something a little special for our patients,” St. Tammany Health System Nurse Practitioner Reneé Christman said. “They sure go through a lot, so anything we can do to bring some joy to them – and seeing them in this environment, not necessarily upstairs in a room – is really special for us, too.”
While cancer center employees got the privilege of distributing the boxes – with a few hugs and smiles thrown in for good measure – the event was made possible through the generosity of groups including St. Tammany Hospital Foundation, In Jesus’ Name Foundation, Bill Hood Chevrolet, Rouses Markets, Gallagher Insurance, and Jim and Mary Lee.
“Our new center is a truly integrative approach to cancer care, and nothing exemplifies that new discipline better than our experience today,” cancer center administrator Jack Khashou said. “We’re out here, feeding bellies and spirits at the same time. My staff is so uplifted, positively giddy, getting to give these generous boxes to their patients. And our patients and their families drive away happy with the groceries loaded right in their car to head home and relax for the holiday week.”