Paying it Forward - Healing for the Heart

Paying it forward is not a new concept. In fact, it can be traced all of the way back to ancient Greece. But it became somewhat of a movement after the 2000 movie appropriately titled, "Pay it Forward". The idea - when someone does a good deed for you, instead of paying them back, pay it forward.

It's easy to buy coffee for the next customer in line or offer a smile to a complete stranger. But, when faced with tragedy, it's much harder to become that shining light in someone else's life.

A Northwest Arkansas couple learned first hand the power of compassion from others after losing their baby boy last year. As their hearts begin to heal, they have unselfishly chosen to "Pay it Forward". Chuck and Lisa Johnson contacted us a few weeks ago after seeing a post on Mamie's Facebook page. They wanted to adopt Willow Creek Hospital in memory of their little boy.

Soon after, Lisa wrote us a letter and has agreed to let us share it with you. Every month, we receive footprints and ship out plates, but this letter lets us know Mamie's is making a difference! Thank you Chuck and Lisa for sharing and for "Paying it Forward"......

"When I recently saw on the Mamie’s Poppy Plate Facebook page that there was a need for Willow Creek Hospital to be adopted, I knew I wanted to help. A year ago I found myself at Willow Creek due to unfortunate circumstances. I suffered a late term miscarriage and delivered my baby there. It was a scary, sad, and surreal day. Yet on that day, on one of the worst days of my life, I saw the best in the people who surrounded me.

I came across some of my writing and reflections from last year. I have pieced together some of those thoughts with my current thoughts below in hopes of expressing how appreciative I am to the staff at Willow Creek Hospital and why I feel so compelled to support this particular hospital and Mamie’s Poppy Plates:

There were so many beautiful moments in the midst of that awful day. There was my nurse friend Lindsey (an employee of Willow Creek at the time), who during her time off chose to sit with me for hours on that dreaded day. She came early in the day to visit and she sat with me again later in the day, helping prepare me for what was to come and keeping me company afterwards. Her nursing instinct and compassion kicked in and on a day when she could have been home with her own family, she chose to spend hours at the hospital with me. There was a nurse named Angela, whose name is fitting because I truly believe she was my angel on earth that day. She carried me right through that delivery, right through that scary, uncertain day. She confidently and gently held my hand and led me through what could have been a traumatic event, but instead was an amazingly beautiful and peaceful experience with my baby. There was also Chaplain Beth, who was a Godsend to me. There is no way to truly be prepared for such an event as we went through, but Chaplain Beth supported my husband and I and guided us every step of the way. I don’t know how we could have gone through that experience without her. Every nurse on call and even the sweet janitor had the most sympathetic and caring demeanor. Then there were the surreal moments, the moments I dreaded most and yet because of the support system of experienced and compassionate nurses and Chaplain Beth, those moments I dreaded most became moments I will treasure most. There was the moment right after the baby was born when my nurse immediately began to comment on the baby. Her words filled what could have been a painful silence. ”Oh, he is perfect. He is so perfect.” Soon after, the chaplain arrived and the two of them oohed and awed over my tiny little baby boy. They looked him over, commenting on his perfect little fingers and toes. They made such a fuss over him. They handled him with such dignity. He was not just a late term miscarriage, but he was a baby and that is just how they treated him. Their eyes looking for and finding the beauty in his tiny frame. There was no awkwardness in this moment, but it was as natural as it could have been. There was no silence leaving me to wonder what I should do next. There was just a room full of voices……… voices of good and voices of encouragement. Their words of encouragement gave my feeble heart and hesitant eyes the courage to look at my sweet baby and spend time with him, just as naturally as if he had been alive or full term. These women, who were just strangers a few days earlier were now in this sacred moment of time, some of my closest supporters.

On that day there were also beautiful gifts and acts of kindness. We were given sweet, tiny gown-like clothing especially designed to drape perfectly over a tiny baby’s fragile body. There were little knitted hats and blankets, all hand made by strangers, whose works of love created in advance, were now part of this sacred moment. There was the moment my sweet nurse tried her best to get teeny, tiny hand and footprints. She even tried again later because the first ones did not turn out as best as they could. She said she was determined to get good ones for us. Then there was learning about Mamie’s Poppy Plates. During a time that I would leave this experience empty, with no baby to bring home, a beautiful gift was offered to me. A keepsake, a tangible treasure, a personalized plate with my baby’s prints on it was available to me free of charge, if and when I was ready to order it. I was very impressed by this offer of generosity.

There is no way to adequately put into words how much every person and every act of kindness meant to me on that day. I know that to the staff at Willow Creek Hospital I am just one of many, many faces. But to me each and every person who was with me on that day will forever be a main character in my life story during a chapter that will be revisited, reread, and remembered in my mind’s eye many times over. Every act of kindness and every gift will be treasured for a lifetime. Thank God for those who do their jobs with grace and compassion. Thank God for those in the medical field who use their hearts as well as their heads and hands when helping those through tough times. Thank God for those who answer the call to provide for others in times of need, whether it be sending a text, bringing food, sharing words of encouragement, knitting blankets & tiny hats, offering a gift of painted keepsakes such as a Mamie’s Poppy Plates, or just being there. My hope is that by supporting Mamie’s Poppy Plates at Willow Creek Hospital, I can in some small way give back and help provide a tiny glimpse of something beautiful on what I know all too well is a day when every small act is huge! I think it is wonderful that Willow Creek participates in the Poppy Plate program, because I know that any and every bit of support that can be offered to a mom who has lost a baby is worth it. "

#payitforward #WillowCreekHospital #MamiesPoppyPlates #remembranceplates