NEWS RELEASE
TIMMINS AND DISTRICT HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
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Beatrice Bolger, fondly known as Grandma B, attended Timmins and District Hospital today with her daughters Dolores Rusenstrom and Judy McShane to deliver “quillows” to the oncology department. Each quillow has a note pinned to it which states:
Use me as a pillow I’m a lap quilt now
Unless you get cold, With a space for your feet,
Then pull out my stuffing And when you’re all done
And gently unfold. Fold me back nice and neat.
Mrs. Bolger started making quillows after she lost her daughter to cancer in 2010 and felt compelled to do something to help. She contacted the oncology department at TADH and asked them, if she made quillows, which are quilts that fold into pillows, would they be willing to distribute them to patients to take home with them.
That’s how it all started and, today, Grandma B dropped off four more of the cozy lap blankets, bringing the total number donated to 300 quillows.
The Spruce Hills Lodge resident has volunteered her time and donated her crafts to numerous causes over the years including Meals on Wheels, Lord’s Kitchen, Red Cross, Hospital Auxiliary, Timmins and Area Women in Crisis, church bazaars and her children’s schools. She even knitted 300 pneumonia vests for third-world countries.
Over the last few years, Beatrice has filled a basket with her crafts which was then raffled off as a fundraiser for Spruce Hill Lodge. Grandma B’s Christmas Baskets have included the following items: two quillows, crib quilts, Christmas stockings, mittens, slippers, fuzzy mitts, scarf, 10 dish cloths, hand towels, wine bags and more. Last year, Grandma B’s Christmas Basket Raffle raised more than $900 for the Lodge and they hope to do the same this year as well.
“When patients start their chemotherapy treatment here, they are given one of Grandma B’s quillows,” stated Sharon Mills, RN, TADH Oncology Department, who accepted the quilts on behalf of the hospital.
“Patients are always happy to receive them, especially once they’re told they can bring them home,” continued Mills.
“Many of our patients bring their quillows back and forth to treatment with them,” she added. “Some people get quite emotional at Grandma B’s generosity for people she doesn’t even know.”
The 96-year-old mother of six usually has at least three projects on the go at one time and enjoys playing card games of every variety.
Her daughters stated that she has a better memory than they do most of the time.
When asked when she will stop crafting the beautiful quillows for the Oncology Department, she replied: “I will continue making them as long as I can see.”
She has received many thank you notes and cards over the years and that’s what keeps her motivated to keep crafting for the cause.
“Age is a matter of the mind,” stated Beatrice Bolger. “If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter,” continued Bolger. “You’re not old, you’re getting older,” added the wise Grandma B.
About Timmins and District Hospital Foundation
From the James Bay coast to Engleheart, from Hearst to Kirkland Lake, Timmins and District Hospital is the beating heart of a vast, beautiful and vibrant region. We hold the well-being of over 115,000 people in our hands…and they, in turn, hold our fate in theirs. As the largest hospital in Northeast Ontario, TADH is poised on the brink of a new era in healthcare for this region. To meet the growing and changing needs of the families we serve, the facilities and equipment of our hospital must be renewed. Not years from now, but now. Outdated, cramped, with an aging building and obsolete equipment, TADH is long past due for a revitalization that will enable us to take our District’s healthcare into the future.
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