Offering comfort, one stitch at a time
In this season of giving, reporter Pamela Cowan is profiling some of the organizations and people working to make the lives of Reginans better. Watch for her stories for the rest of the year as we showcase the 12 Days of Difference-Makers.
Just when we are living in a world full of turmoil and sickness, people like you shine and show the kindness in humans.
A patient wrote that note inside a card to thank Carol Cochrane for her generosity in donating stacks of beautiful handmade quilts to the Allan Blair Cancer Lodge.
A string of other thank you cards line a table near the quilting area in the basement of her north Regina home.
“I’ve had phone calls and I even had one lady send $20 along and told me to go out for a lunch because she said I deserved it,” Cochrane says. “They are very appreciative.”
She truly understands that a cancer diagnosis and treatment can be a fearful and an uncertain time for patients and their families.
To bring a measure of comfort into their lives, she’s delivered 53 quilts to the Allan Blair Cancer Lodge since January.
Cochrane makes the quilts in remembrance of her father who had a lengthy stay at the lodge while undergoing cancer treatment 12 years ago.
Prior to his illness, her father was an avid volunteer.
“He delivered Meals on Wheels until he was well into his 80s,” Cochrane says. “That was always his thing. He also worked at a centre in Swift Current for handicapped children, so volunteerism was big in his world.
“When I can do it in his honour, it’s very special.”
To ensure patient confidentiality, Cochrane is never given the names of those receiving the quilts. She was dropping off an armful of quilts at the lodge when by chance she met a lady receiving her handiwork.
“I got the biggest hug,” she says. “It’s very rewarding to make a difference in people’s lives.”
After a quilt is completed, she takes a picture of it, numbers it and puts the photo in an album.
“Patients can choose a quilt by number,” Cochrane said. “They go through them very fast, which is sad when you think about it because that’s how many people are going through there.”
Making a quilt takes time and patience.
First Cochrane decides on the design of the cozy quilts, which are about the size of a double bed.
If she doesn’t have a pattern, she designs it on paper and then chooses fabric from pieces left over from her many sewing projects.
After the fabric is cut, she arranges the pieces on her design wall and then sews the top, backing and batting together.
Cochrane is always on the watch for sales on backing and batting.
“When I started this, my daughter put it on Facebook telling friends what I was doing and that she is proud of me for doing it,” she says.
As a result of the post, family and friends have pitched in with donations for her project. Funds are dwindling so Cochrane plans to reach out to a corporate sponsor so she can keep doing what she loves.
No quilt is complete until she stitches a label on it: “Handmade with Care and Compassion by Carol Cochrane” and the year.
With every quilt she donates to patients at the Allan Blair Cancer Lodge, Cochrane includes a letter explaining her project:
I hope you will get as much enjoyment and comfort during your treatment from receiving and using these quilts, as I got from making and giving them.