Mugs full of flowers put smiles on patients’ faces

HARLINGEN — After four days of fighting pneumonia at the hospital, Maria Caballero on Friday received a yellow “happy face” mug full of white and yellow daisies.

“Yellow is my favorite color,” Caballero said. “They’re so pretty.”

Caballero, a patient at Valley Baptist Medical Center, was one of many patients who received a floral arrangement from the Teleflora 2007 “Make Someone Smile Week.”

Bloomers Flower Shop and Flowers by Jesse participated in the project of putting together 98 floral arrangements for the promotion by Teleflora, a floral service. The local florists delivered 46 arrangements to VBMC and 52 to Harlingen Medical Center.

The Make Someone Smile Week campaign began in 2000 to brighten the day for hospital patients, nursing home residents and children living in foster care facilities, according to a news release.

It is the first year that Teleflora South Texas participated in the promotion, Pam Fuller, owner of Bloomers and the Teleflora South Texas, said.

Fuller and two of her workers, Joann Escobar and Eliseo Alcala, delivered the floral arrangements. Fuller said that last year the national promotion helped deliver 35,000 mugs, but this year the goal was 47,000 mug deliveries.

“It makes us feel good to put a smile on someone’s face,” Fuller said. “It brings a smile to my face as well as to the patient.”

Escobar said it always makes her feel good to make others happy.

“Donating time is always great,” Alcala added.

Melba Tehrani-Garnica, a kidney transplant recipient who checked into the hospital because of an infection, also received a mug of flowers.

“It’s really pretty, I like daisies,” Tehrani-Garnica said. “This definitely makes someone smile. It brightened my day.”

Diana Ikerd, director of volunteer services, said the patients who received the flower mugs were chosen by the nurses who work with the patients. Ikerd also said flowers can help patients feel better by boosting their spirits.

“Valley Baptist’s mission is to heal the body, mind and spirit,” Ikerd said. “The mind controls how you feel and that helps a lot.”

Supplies used to make the arrangements were donated.

Teleflora donated the mugs; Enrique Saldivar, a flower wholesaler in Los Fresnos, donated the flowers; and South Floral from Corpus Christi donated the foam used to bundle the flowers.

Hospital auxiliary volunteers also helped deliver the flower mugs.

The cities of Corpus Christi, Kingwood and Houston, all part of Teleflora South Texas, also participated in the campaign.