At that moment Karen’s boss, Dr. Nelson, walked in. Karen was still in a daze from the bad news, but the photograph had stirred something deep, a memory of hope. And something else, an alchemical instinct – to turn the lead of adversity into the gold of helping others.

“What do you think of this idea?” asked Karen. Dr. Nelson, a conservative physician in his seventies, leaned in to listen, unsuspecting. “What if I dressed up as Raggedy Ann, and visited the patients across the street at Cottage Hospital on my lunch hour?”

Karen had worked as a medical assistant and administrator for Dr. Nelson for 15 years. He knew her well. She was reserved and had never dressed up in a costume in her life, even for Halloween. Despite this, he managed to conceal his amazement and simply asked, “Well what is your intention?”

“If I’m invited into a patient’s room,” Karen responded, “my hope is that I could lift his spirits, his heart might open, and he would know that someone cared.” “I think it’s a great idea,” said Dr. Nelson, “Why don’t you call Cottage Hospital administration right now and see when you can get started.”

Karen made the call, and so began her adventure. Cutting through red tape took almost six months, but eventually, on Valentine’s Day, 1984, with knees knocking inside her bloomers, Karen took her first steps as Raggedy Ann, across Bath Street and into the hospital.

The very first patient she visited had throat cancer. He couldn’t speak. His two sisters, who invited Raggedy Ann to see him, explained that he hadn’t spoken for eight months. “But would you please come in and say hello. Maybe your bright smile will cheer him up.” Karen agreed, took a deep breath, and stepped into a miracle.

“Hi it’s Raggedy Ann,” she whispered, not wanting to wake him if he were sleeping. “Would you like a visitor today?” Looking up to see if he heard correctly, he began to smile, and nodded his consent. Karen told him her story: that this was her first day volunteering as Raggedy Ann, she was nervous, and how she hoped that this visit with him would give her the courage to continue. Then, with a full heart, and at a loss for other words, she said to him “I love you.” His eyes gleamed, and a tear rolled down his cheek. Contact was made.

As Karen walked out of the room into the hallway, she heard a faint, gravelly voice call out to her from inside the room; “I love you too Raggedy Ann!” Stopped in her tracks, humbled by the voice of a man without one, she knelt and wept.

Karen knew only too well that this was confirmation. She was on the right path. “Well, you’ve got me God” she prayed. Then, getting to her feet, still in awe of what she had just experienced, she continued on her rounds.

Today, Karen’s mission continues…