Patient Care

Lung Transplant

Quilt Shows Faces of Personalized Health Care

A thank-you from the artistic wife of a transplant patient left members of The Ohio State University Medical Center’s Lung Transplant program in stitches – literally.

Ruth Roy, wife of transplant patient Tim Roy, expressed her family’s gratitude for the “gift of life” and the personalized care her husband received by stitching the images of the dedicated transplant team staff into a 12-panel quilt.

BEST EVER
The quilt is titled: The Best Lung Transplant Team Ever.

Central to the quilt is the image of Ruth’s husband, dubbed lung recipient #88, along with a package wrapped in hearts, tied with a red bow and adorned with a lung-shaped gift tag. The tag says, “Deliver to Tim Roy, A Special Friend 7/18/07.”

On that day, members of the Ohio State transplant team gave Tim his lung transplant and a second chance at life.

Ruth is an RN who retired from nursing to open her own quilt shop in southwest Ohio. Much of the work on the quilt was completed during her husband’s inpatient care while Ruth stayed at the Unverferth House, a temporary residence for OSU Medical Center patients and families who live outside the central Ohio area.

FAMILY PORTRAIT
It’s appropriate that Ruth captured the transplant team’s images in this quilted family portrait, because that’s just how social worker Shawn Spence, MSW, LSW, and others describe those in the transplant program.

“All of us on the transplant team are extremely touched by their gift. We realize that patients are grateful, but it is incredible to see all of the effort and caring she put into this quilt,” says Spence, pointing out the personalized features of the quilt such as clever references to Susan Moffatt-Bruce’s Canadian roots and Patrick Ross’ love of horses.

“We tell all of our transplant patients that they become part of our extended family for the rest of their lives,” adds Spence. “Knowing that we can make a difference in people’s lives this way makes us all feel very good.”

Comment from quilter/wife:
I am a quilter. I love to design and quilt projects that have special meaning for those folks who are important to me and my family. I have known from the very beginning of our association with the Ohio State Lung Transplant Team that someday I would make them a quilt.

The first few days post-transplant were very intense for our family. I would leave the hospital at night thinking about each person who was trying so hard to make Tim's lung transplant successful. When I realized that there would be multiple quilts to make, I started designing this quilt. It was done to honor the individuals who have collectively given my husband a second chance at life.

The response to the quilt has been wonderful. My hope is that the quilt will be viewed by others seeking care from this talented group and that it can be used as an educational tool that portrays to others the teamwork involved in giving “the gift of life."
— Ruth Roy

Reprinted from Insight with permission of The Ohio State University Medical Center.