LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thousands of children visit Norton Children’s Hospital every year. Some are in and out, but others have longer stays.
Teenagers, kids and sometimes infants, diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses can have a difficult time throughout the process of being treated and recovering.
That's where Norton Children's Hospital relies on volunteers to do what they can to ease some of the stress for not only the patients but parents as well.
Whether it’s cleaning the playrooms to reading or playing with the kids and helping them with meals or simply holding them, volunteers are always needed.
About 1,400 people volunteer to help and somehow, out of so many giving people, Barbara Bernard stands out.
"She’ll come one day and be here 12 full hours, she fills in as needed," Lynnie Meyer, Chief Development Officer at Norton Children’s Hospital, said.
Bernard's place of giving comes from somewhere close to her heart. She knows what it’s like to have a sick child and not be able to nurse them back to health.
"In our situation, we had a perfectly healthy child and then he ended up with a seizure and we ended up in the hospital all in the same night and then found out he had a brain tumor. Your life can change so quickly," Bernard said.
Bernard's son, Garrett, was 14-years-old at the time of their visit to Norton's Children's Hospital.
She says they weren’t in the hospital long before Garrett had to have surgery but she remembers volunteers checking on her and her family and coming over with books and magazines.
"It is hard there’s so many situations here you cannot fix," Bernard said.
Volunteers can’t always take away the stress but the thoughtfulness and giving nature of each individual meant a lot.
Garrett is now 31 and Bernard is still paying that kindness forward. She’s done laundry for families, found them clothes, gone on coffee runs and much more.
"Any way you can help," said Bernard. "It’s not easy and you just have to take it truly a day, a minute at a time."
Bernard volunteers every Thursday and if she misses a Thursday, she makes up the time on another day. She’s been doing this for going on 13 years.
If you’re interested in volunteering at the hospital, click here.
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