A Welcome Surprise
“My family is always there for me, but this time I knew I was on my own,” recalled Zoe Smith a medical assistant from Iowa who recently recovered from an illness. “I felt it, too. I felt very alone.”
Smith’s family, in turn, experienced something many of us have to cope with these days—the inability to be there in person for our friends or family when they need us. Smith’s aunt, Arlene Carlson, hit upon an idea she’d read about. “I saw a post online where someone sent thank you balloons to the nurses and doctors at our local hospital and it occurred to me that balloons would be a great surprise for Zoe, too.”
So, while Smith was recovering, Carlson ordered a get well soon arrangement delivered to her home. “I never expected it!” Smith said. “I opened the door to this explosion of color and get-well-soon balloons and I was overwhelmed with emotion. It was like my aunt was there with me. It was the best surprise.”
“I opened the door to this explosion of color and get-well-soon balloons and I was overwhelmed with emotion. It was like my aunt was there with me. It was the best surprise.”
Unlike other types of gift-giving, receiving a balloon arrangement goes beyond the unwrapping of a physical object—it’s an experience. Balloon arrangements are designed to make a statement of wonder, and their unexpected arrival intended to create an encounter for the recipient that they won’t soon forget.
In fact, the experience itself may make the recipient feel closer to the giver. A recent study at the University of Toronto concluded that experiences are more memorable and emotionally engaging than material gifts. The memory of an experience continues to have an emotional effect on the recipient long after the initial surprise.
The Power of Words
Stay strong. You’ve got this! With you all the way. We love you. As many recipients can attest, positive messages, encouraging phrases or inspiring quotes sent along with a gift can be extremely powerful—enough to set their mind on the path to healing or give joyful, but nervous, first-time parents a welcome reminder of their family’s love and support. A thoughtfully chosen arrangement that includes balloons imprinted with words of inspiration have the potential to make a deep impression in the mind of a loved one.
“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it until it begins to shine.”
Can balloon arrangements help us heal?
While the impact of receiving balloons alone has yet to be studied, it has been documented that a patient’s spirits can be uplifted when a gift such as flowers arrives at the hospital bedside. The psychological effect on healing continues beyond those first moments, too.
What we've learned from flowers
Decades ago, a groundbreaking study by Roger S. Ulrich at the University of Delaware became the foundation for our understanding of how flowers influence outcomes. The study found that “surgical patients assigned to rooms with windows looking out on a natural scene had shorter postoperative hospital stays” than those in rooms with windows that faced a brick wall.
In another study, patients with plants or flowers expressed higher satisfaction and more positive feelings about their hospital rooms than those without. According to the study, “introducing... flowers into a hospital room during the recovery period had a positive influence linking directly to health outcomes of surgical patients. Patients... had significantly less need for analgesics, enhanced physiological responses, lower ratings of pain, anxiety, and fatigue.”
Get Well Balloon Bouquet
Cheering Them On
Whether they send flower or balloon arrangements, families can make a difference by lifting spirits and helping their loved ones heal from a distance. This was certainly the case for Zoe Smith, who told us that when she first got sick, she had felt so alone, “but then every time I looked at those balloons, it was like Aunt Arlene was right there, cheering me on to get better.”
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