- April 19, 2024
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Valerie Johnson warms the hearts of people she’s never even met. She learned to crochet in junior high home economics class, and once she started she has never stopped. Through the years she’s created a variety of hooked needlework items such as hats and toys, but now she’s crocheting blankets to be given away for free to cancer patients who visit the Judith C. Macko Cancer Resource Library at Florida Hospital Flagler.
In April, Johnson’s husband, Jeffry, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in his spine. The lymphoma is also affecting his legs. One day, while Jeffry was receiving chemotherapy treatment at Dr. Philip Ndum’s office in Florida Hospital Flagler, Valerie noticed one of the other patients was wrapped up in a blanket that, she learned, was given to her by the Judith C. Macko Cancer Resource Library.
That encounter gave the Palm Coast resident the idea to create what she affectionately refers to as her “waiting room blankets.” While Jeffry is at his various doctors’ appointments, Valerie sits in the waiting room and crochets blankets, which she then donates to the Florida Hospital Flagler Judith C. Macko Cancer Resource Library.
Located on the second floor of Florida Hospital Flagler, the resource library offers an extensive collection of books, brochures, articles and videotapes about all types of cancer. Cancer patients and their families, as well as community members, are all welcome to use the library's free services.
In addition, the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Resource Center is also located inside the library. Registered cancer patients — even if they are not patients at Florida Hospital Flagler — can receive wigs, head coverings, mastectomy bras and prostheses, along with information on current American Cancer Society programs, all free of charge.
For more information about Florida Hospital Flagler’s Judith C. Macko Cancer Library, call 586-2084.
