SOMERS POINT, N.J. (AP) – Joseph Johnson was going about his life, getting ready for the holidays at the Jersey Shore, when he started to feel ill and wound up in a hospital. It turned out he had diabetes, and it was threatening his life.
The shock of a sudden illness and hospitalization was compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. To slow its spread, most hospitals are forbidding visitors, meaning patients like Johnson find themselves alone during what is supposed to be a joyous season.
“Because of the plague, my wife can’t come visit; all she can do is call and text,” he said. “It’s pretty depressing.”
Then one day a small bit of cheer came his way. Tucked next to the covered dish on his meal tray at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point were two Christmas cards, handmade by local children, wishing him a speedy recovery and a happy holiday season.
It was part of a wave of greeting cards being collected independently by hospitals this December for patients cut off from the support of visitors. It does not appear to have any central coordination; many hospitals just decided on their own that it would be a kind thing to do.