Doctor Eleanor Love is emulating her family name and profession. The medical student has found a way to make her patients happy and give used wedding decorations a new use.
Introducing The Simple Sunflower, a program Eleanor founded at the VCU School of Medicine. It only requires one simple step: requesting leftover flowers from weddings and other events to be donated for patient bouquets.
The 27-year-old has attended a lot of weddings since the venture began. Eleanor didn’t know any of the people involved in the activities, but she was constantly thinking of ways to repurpose.
The once-discarded flowers in the Richmond, Virginia, area now have a second use: cheering up hospital patients. As a medical professional, Eleanor is aware that patients may experience loneliness.
And that sometimes all you need to put a smile on your face is a bouquet of flowers. Prior to starting medical school, Eleanor had experience working in a flower shop.
Here, she discovered that flowers and plants can promote a patient’s recovery. Through the floral design, Eleanor and The Simple Sunflower project provided new insight into palliative care.
Connie Melzers, a 68-year-old patient, received Eleanor’s flowers and reported that she sobbed and cried. It’s a big deal when you’re there for six to eight weeks. Eleanor says this about the experience: “You connect with [patients] on a different level. ”.
