Highland Community Hospital Volunteers will host a jewelry sale Thursday and Friday that will offer affordable jewelry and accessories to raise money for the hospital.

The proceeds will be used to purchase items not generally provided by the hospital.

Those items include teddy bears, coloring books, tables and games for children, all of which enhance every patient’s experience at the hospital.

I’ve had my fair share of visits to the hospital as a child. 

At times I made more trips to a medical facility than a typical family going grocery shopping.

Although I haven’t had to visit a doctor very often since I moved to Picayune, as a child I dreaded the numerous hospital visits.

I remember by mom attempting to convince me to go to those visits with little resistance with the promise of a present.

At one point, those visits became so frequent the hospital staff began giving me toys and gifts.

I’m not sure if they did that for everyone at the hospital but that definitely made my follow up visits more enticing, alleviating much of the pain my family felt when I refused to go.

I realized the hospital staff was going out of their way to make me more comfortable with the hospital environment.

As a result, I didn’t resent the prolonged stays that would follow.

The volunteers at Highland Community Hospital are trying to do exactly that.

Since some people are so ill that they have to endure extended stays or frequent visits to the hospital, they want to make sure everyone is comfortable.

So if you have a free moment over the next couple of days, stop in to the hospital. You may just find something beautiful for $5.