Wrap A Smile Quilts

Quilts with pictures are a great way to communicate.  While there is always a local interpreter on hand with every surgical mission, not every patient interaction can be aided by translation.  One of the many roles of the non-medical team members is entertaining and comforting patients, both before and after their surgeries. Often the communication is through smiles, hugs, gestures, sound effects..... anything that can convey interest and compassion.   Pointing to a picture of an animal on a quilt, accompanied by a raised eyebrow, can be enough to encourage a child to name the animal in their own language.  Then the sound effects start, followed by the laughter.  Having been on a Rotaplast mission, I can attest to the smiles and laughter that lighten the very long workdays. For you non-quilters, the term "I spy quilt" refers to a quilt that is full of pictures.  My friend Cheryl from Hollis Center, Maine, brought this quilt full of wonky off-center pictures to me last week.