“Every day across this nation there are patients receiving care in hospitals and other care centers. In most of these rooms, the side table or often a wall is bedecked with cards saying “Get Well Soon.” But sometimes recovery is not possible and a terminal patient will no longer seek curative treatment. Often these patients will be cared for at home or in a hospice center. And then the cards stop.”
This is the beginning of Regina Holliday's petition to the Hallmark company imploring them to create greeting cards for hospice patients. The petition was posted on Change.org, a website where people can post petitions for causes they believe in.
While her husband was dying from cancer, Holliday found that friends and family had a difficult time expressing their feelings and showing their support. There seemed to be a communications gap between “get well” and “condolence”. She hopes that Hallmark, with its huge influence and skills in communicating heartfelt sentiments, will address this gap with new greeting cards that will support those who choose to suspend treatment and seek comfort at the end of life.