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Describing Stephanie Mataya as a caregiver feels like a vast understatement once you get to know her. A full-time speech pathologist, wife, mom, stepmom, and dog/cat/lizard mom, Stephanie spends her time bettering the lives of the people (and animals) who surround her and nurturing a culture of care and compassion in her community. For the past fifteen years, Stephanie has been a speech pathologist at BayCare, one of the largest healthcare systems in Pinellas County, Florida, and during that time, she has become very involved in the Random Acts of Flowers mission both at work and during her free time.
This is her story of the impact delivering hope has had in her life.
I work with the elderly and a lot of our patients are people who come to us from long-term care or assisted living facilities. They are often people who are dealing with dementia for the first time and don’t have family around. That’s an issue we deal with a lot here in Florida. People come down here to retire and then they are alone.
The flowers that Random Acts of Flowers delivers create an emotional connection, and people – when they’re in the hospital – are overwhelmed. Their families are overwhelmed. It’s such a surreal experience and when flowers are there, you feel like a normal person. We expect to see flowers and trees and grass, and we take them for granted. But, when you’re in a facility, you don’t have the opportunity to go outside and enjoy nature in the same way.
The flowers create that feeling that someone cares about them, and it’s a great way to start a conversation about something other than the care they’re receiving. Everything’s being done to them, this is done for them. As a healthcare provider and a speech pathologist, it opens a lot of doors.
One of my favorite stories about the impact of Random Acts of Flowers is about a patient who had come from a skilled nursing facility. She wasn’t talking to us or interacting; she was shutting down. An RAF delivery came, and the flowers were on her windowsill. I brought the flowers over to her and started talking about them and had her smell them. And, she immediately started talking with me. She said, “I remember getting flowers for my birthday.” This bouquet had roses and was very fragrant and she said, “Roses are my favorite flower.”
That olfactory experience started triggering a lot of memories for her. There’s a lot of research about how the sense of smell can trigger memories and emotions. And, this woman who hadn’t spoken in a long time started speaking about her husband and her kids. From that point, she got more interactive, would eat more, etc. We encouraged her home facility to give her flowers to help her stay more alert and interactive.
Another story I love – We have a long-term care unit and we get our deliveries there every Tuesday. Recently, we had a young woman from Chicago in our care. She had a lot of memory issues, but one thing she could always remember was “on Tuesdays, my flowers come.” We would work on her knowing the date, trying to get her oriented. She was very confused, but we could give her that touchstone – “On Tuesdays, my flowers come.” She’s well on her way to a full recovery and going back home soon. She wants to volunteer at RAF Chicago when she’s feeling better. That’s what I call a full circle!
And, because RAF made deliveries to BayCare, I was able to see the positive effect it had on patients. It encouraged me to become more involved. My family and I have done deliveries, my son’s Boy Scout troop volunteered at the workshop, and my mom has even volunteered with floral prep. The benefit I’ve seen at my workplace made me want to help deliver hope to others. I love RAF, and I love what it does for patients, caregivers, and volunteers.
One more story! My sons are 15 and 17, and we did a delivery a few years ago at an Assisted Living Facility. There was a man there who had dementia, and we were told not to give him any flowers because he would eat them. My sons were upset because it was the man’s birthday the next day, but we couldn’t leave any flowers for him. So, with the facility’s permission, they decided that they wanted to bring him something for his birthday. So, we went back after school the next day with food and punch and spent some time with him for his birthday. Teenage boys are not necessarily known for being that compassionate, but making the connection with this man over the flowers helped their empathy shine through. They were able to think about delivering hope and bringing care and compassion to someone.
I would tell people interested in RAF, “Get involved immediately!” It’s so simple, but it’s so powerful. When you, as a volunteer, do something with your hands – prepping the flowers, making an arrangement, delivering flowers – it gets into your soul. One thing that’s especially great is that the feedback is immediate, and you can see it and feel it in the moment. When you talk about the ripple effect, the caregiver and the volunteer gets to enjoy the glow that the deliveries create.
roFlowers charity partnersSAN DIEGO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — To honor the brave men and women who have served our country, leading online floral gifting brand ProFlowers® (NASDAQ: FTD) and Sun Valley Floral Farms will donate and deliver 90,000 Royal Lilies to charities, veteran’s hospitals and centers around the nation. Random Acts of Flowers, ProFlowers charity partner whose ongoing mission is to create moments of kindness in healthcare facilities, will deliver the beautiful, bright bouquets throughout the third and fourth weeks of May in honor of Military Appreciation Month and Memorial Day.
Lilies represent appreciation, and Sun Valley’s Royal Spring lilies are an exclusive hybrid species of Asiatic-Longiflorum Lilies. Their blooms are bigger than traditional Asiatic Lilies, they have the longest vase life of any lily, and they boast the widest variety of colors including wonderful hues of peach, pink, orange and yellow. ProFlowers, Sun Valley and Random Acts of Flowers wanted to honor hospitalized and disabled military members who have served our country with the fresh flowers.
ProFlowers trucks are transporting the lilies to charity partners in Chicago, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Silicon Valley, Sacramento and Portland. Random Acts of Flowers and ProFlowers employee volunteers will deliver the bouquets to veterans in locations including Hines VA Hospital, Evanston Vet Center, Richard Roudebush Medical Center, the Palo Alto VA and others.
Since 1998, ProFlowers works directly with top-quality growers such as Sun Valley to deliver fresh flowers at a great value right to your recipient’s doorstep. Sun Valley is one of the largest grower/distributors of specialty cut flowers in the United States with farms in Northern and Southern California.
Random Acts of Flowers is ProFlowers main charity partner. To date, ProFlowers has donated more than 38,000 bouquets — 460,000 flowers — to the organization for its ongoing mission.
“At ProFlowers, our mission is to inspire, support and delight people through the gifting of fresh, beautiful flowers, while also doing our part to support the communitiesin which we live and operate,” said ProFlowers General Manager and Senior Vice President Laura Szeliga. “Honoring the lives, courage and legacy of our military is a part of that, and we know how much a simple gesture such as a vase of bright flowers can make a really meaningful impact. It goes a long way.”
“It is through ProFlowers and all of our partners’ continued support that brings our mission of delivering hope alive, day in and day out,” said Random Acts of Flowers National Programs and Strategic Growth Director Kellie Doyle. “We are also especially grateful to Sun Valley for these beautiful lilies. It will bring so many smiles to veterans across the country.”
Sun Valley Floral Farms President Lane DeVries said, “It is an honor to participate in this program and share our flowers with veterans across the United States. The men and women who selflessly serve in our nation’s military deserve our admiration. We are humbled by their service and see this small gesture as a way to say thank you.”
ProFlowers offers deep discounts to men and women in uniform at www.proflowers.com/militarydiscount. Visit ProFlowers.com for super-premium quality flowers for any kind of occasion including birthdays, anniversaries and “just because.”
About FTD Companies, Inc.
FTD Companies, Inc. is a premier floral and gifting company. Through our diversified family of brands, we provide floral, specialty foods, gifts and related products to consumers primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. We also provide floral products and services to retail florists and other retail locations throughout these same geographies. FTD has been delivering flowers since 1910 and the highly-recognized FTD® and Interflora® brands are supported by the iconic Mercury Man logo®, which is displayed in nearly 35,000 floral shops in over 125 countries. In addition to FTD and Interflora, our diversified portfolio of brands includes the following trademarks: ProFlowers®, ProPlants®, Shari’s Berries®, Personal Creations®, RedEnvelope®, Flying Flowers®, Flowers Direct™, Ink Cards™, Postagram™ and Gifts.com™. FTD Companies, Inc. is headquartered in Downers Grove, Ill. For more information, please visit www.ftdcompanies.com.
SOURCE FTD Companies, Inc.
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Larsen Jay, Random Acts of Flowers founder and trauma survivor, knows the value of a listening ear and shoulder to lean on more than most, and this has motivated him to be one of the founders and an active member of the University of Tennessee’s Trauma Survivors Network (TSN).
The TSN was created at the University of Tennessee in January 2016 out of the American Trauma Society under the umbrella of the Trauma Advisory Council. The purpose of the Advisory Council is to bring together patients, family members, doctors, and administrators to encourage the hospital to think more from the patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives, as well as also to form the peer-to-peer TSN program for patients who have sustained life-altering events, like a car accident or a fall from a height, connecting them with people who have shared a similar experience.
Therese Zaltash, coordinator for the TSN, breaks down why the program is so important to patients and caregivers
“The medical aspect of their care is so precise and is down to minutia in regards to specific treatments and methodology, but what we’ve learned over time is that the patient sustains such anxiety and stress from the unknown. What does this injury mean? They might not have ever been in the hospital before. They may be separated from their family due to distance or insurance reasons. And, our support program has people come in for these patients.
We try to provide information to decrease anxiety. We believe information and education is power throughout the journey. We get in as quickly as we can, try to meet them as soon after admission as possible, when they’re in the critical care unit. We tell them about the resources that are available to them, so they can know what they have access to.
Trauma has multiple disciplines looking over your care – orthopedics, neurology, geriatric, pharmacology, etc. – and it can be overwhelming. Oftentimes, these people’s lives are going to be forever changed. We do a great job of putting them back together physically, but the emotional component is a challenge and it’s going to be a long road to follow. The meat and potatoes of our organization are the peer mentors, which is where Larsen comes in.”
As a former trauma patient himself, Larsen knows how difficult the process can be. “The thing I always remember is that their whole world is upside down and they have no idea what the new normal is going to be like. They might be worrying about the logistical things about their life, ‘Did I feed my pet?’ But it’s also, ‘How am I going to put my life back together?’ It’s totally disorienting and exhausting from minute one on. And, so what we get to do is go in and say ‘You have survived, you are here, and now what can we do to help you understand what the next steps will look like.’” One thing that Larsen does to show patients that he understands is to bring in pictures from his own accident which he says “breaks down the barriers to help them see that there’s life after trauma.
Larsen describes the peer-to-peer network as “we’re a third therapist, a third friend, and a third ‘take a breath, it’s going to be okay,’ perspective. It gives the current patient an outlet to someone who isn’t a doctor, nurse, or administrator, but someone who’s been where they’ve been. A real community connector. About 40% of the people who come through the trauma center aren’t from Knoxville. They’re from all over the region, and could be 6-8 hours from home. So, we’re patient advocates but also ambassadors for our Knoxville community.”
Besides being a good listener, added support, and community ambassadors, the TSN peers can also help patients with the logistics of being in the trauma center – how to ask questions, smooth the process, and advocate for yourself. That you have the right as a patient to stay in control of your treatment. Therese recalls how valuable RAF Co-founder (and Larsen’s wife) Adrian’s presence was during his time in the trauma center. “When he came, he was blessed in that he and his wife Adrian work so well together. She was at his bedside from the very beginning and took notes on every single thing that transpired – medications, staff changes, questions to ask. Oftentimes, patients don’t feel that they have a voice to ask those questions, but they did. They asked those questions.” Adrian now serves as a peer mentor for caregivers in the TSN.
In the end, Larsen says “The thing that motivates me the most is the fact that I’m alive and I can help the next person. I didn’t have that when I went through, so I recognize the value of it. It’s our duty to help the person who is going through what we went through, because we wish we had it.”
On Thursday, May 18th, Larsen will speak on the role of the peer visitor at the First Annual Trauma Survivor Network Survivor Celebration. This event will recognize the success and healing process of all the UT Trauma Center’s 2016 patients, as well as recognize the medical staff and volunteers who worked with them.
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