The background:

Hello, I am Leah. I am a nurse in a hospital. Thank you for visiting Get Well Cords!

Being a patient in a hospital can be scary. To the typical patient, the hospital is an unfamiliar environment, a place filled with unsettling beeps from all sorts of unfamiliar equipment. Doctors, nurses, and other staff ask non-stop personal questions, poke and prod body parts, and disturb the normal the sleep pattern.

In hospitals patients wait...and wait more. They wait for answers, they wait for tests, they wait for results, all while cooped up in a sterile-looking, unfamiliar room. Patients experience a loss of control over their diet, their surroundings, and lose all of the comforts of home.

As a bedside nurse, I have found the majority of patients are admitted to the hospital under very rapid circumstances (either coming through the emergency department, arriving by ambulance, or sent by a doctor on a moment's notice.) A lot of times these patients are in pain, are scared, and are trying to absorb an abundance of medical information (that for the majority of people is pretty much a foreign language.)

The saving grace for most patients is a trusted companion, a friend or family member who accompanies them during their hospital stay. This person can serve as emotional support, a second ear for information absorption, an errand runner, and ultimately a patient advocate during a very vulnerable time. But with visitor restrictions that came about in 2020 (and are likely to continue), hospitalized patients are more isolated than ever before.

Although most patients make it to the hospital with their cell phones, as a bedside nurse, I find that many times the cell phone charger has been left behind in the quick transition to the hospital. Cell phones act as a lifeline for patients to keep them connected to family and friends during their hospital stay. Cell phones also provide a distraction during those waiting times that can feel like an eternity. A charger is essential in order to keep the patient connected to the outside world through the cell phone.

I've given away quite a few chargers over the past year and a half, but find that the need is far greater than I can keep up with on my own.

The purpose of this website is to raise funds to provide hospitalized patients with cell phone chargers. Each donation comes the option of providing a “get well” message or prayer that will be attached to the cord. This way, the recipient of the cord will not only be grateful for the actual cord, but also the prayers and thoughts from the kind person who donated the cord.

By providing a “Get Well Cord” to a patient, you are providing a simple, yet much needed item and inspiration to those who are hospitalized. This useful gift will be theirs to keep even after their hospital stay and will serve as a lasting reminder of the generosity and kindness of others.