Problem-solving students ease burden for families in hospital

PALM COAST — When Nicole Perilli was 6-years-old, her sister was injured in an automobile accident and lay in a coma for five days. Her mother remained by her side throughout.

Ten years later, Nicole’s sister is fully recovered, but the details of that frightening episode have stuck with the younger sibling. Among them, how little time her mother had to consider what ordinary, everyday items she might need during her vigil.

“It was my mom’s first priority to stay in the hospital,” Nicole recalls. “She didn’t go home for a straight week; she just stayed there at the hospital. And she didn’t bring anything with her, obviously, because she wasn’t expecting this to happen.”

Later, her mother told her about some women who brought her a bag with a prepaid cell phone and a few other things into the hospital unit.

It was something Nicole would remember when, in her junior year at Flagler Palm Coast High School, she and five of her peers were considering ways to make life better in their community. Mia Scarcella, enough waiting for their loved ones to get better,” Kayla said.

The group fills tote bags with shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, phone chargers, magazines donated by Palm Coast Data, and playing cards with instructions for games to pass the time. They also include a list of local services, such as restaurants that deliver, superstores, transportation services and lodging, especially for people unfamiliar with the area.

“It’s just another item that you don’t have to worry about,” Sierra said.

They recently added blankets to their inventory.

Mia said temperatures are kept cool in hospitals and, while patients have blankets, the same is not true for visitors.

“So, just having a blanket there would be more comforting,” she said.

Another idea the team had was to provide board games for the hospital. Mia said playrooms generally don’t have anything for older children.

The group members, who call their project “Reaching For Relief,” have enlisted the help of Rymfire and Wadsworth elementary school students for the cause. The children decorate cards with colorful drawings and messages, such as “Thinking of you” or “Sending you love” or “Best wishes.” The cards are put in the bags.

Every month, the group drops off 50 filled tote bags to the nurses at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The nurses then distribute them as needed. The group hopes to donate 300 bags by the end of the school year.