For weeks, Ann Moore drifted in and out of consciousness. Her tired eyes would open slowly, search the strange room curiously for clues and then succumb to a great, inexplicable heaviness. Absolute darkness. Silence. Where am I? Her clouded mind would struggle to process blurred memories, to rationalize the confusing sights and sounds gathered during her brief moments of consciousness. What’s happening to me? Her eyes would open, search and close. Open and close. And as she floated away into the darkness again, detached and serene, she would think, “I must be very sick.” 
   She had no idea. 
   One minute, Easley’s patient education coordinator was in her kitchen, chatting with her husband Johnny over a pot of homemade soup. The next minute, she was in the intensive care unit on what easily could have become her deathbed. A simple bowel obstruction would lead to a multi-system failure and hours of surgery, another obstruction and more surgery. A lung collapsed. Her kidneys failed. The surgical site refused to close properly. She would stumble in and out of consciousness for weeks and weeks, unaware of the feeding tube, the catheter, the oxygen, the central line carrying various antibiotics, unaware that she was not expected to live. 
   In fact, Ann has no recollection of that first month at all, and the following weeks are hazy at best. Her most vivid hospital memory, she admits, is opening her eyes in the middle of the night to find her coworker Jennifer Perry sitting at her bedside. She blinked. Jennifer was squeezing her hand and smiling, and Ann thought, “She shouldn’t be here.” 
   After all, it had been less than two months since the administrative associate for Easley’s Education department had lost her husband Ian in a disastrous motorcycle accident. And about two weeks before the accident, the high school sweethearts had learned Jennifer was five weeks pregnant with their first child. So, here at Ann’s bedside sat a 21-year-old widow, three or four months pregnant, still bleary-eyed and mourning the shocking death of her true love, smiling and telling her everything would be okay. Unbelievable. Ann would smile back as her teary eyes closed again, completely unaware that Jennifer, the selfless coworker who was covering for her back at the hospital, was there at her bedside ... every single night. 
   Today, Ann has recovered fully (and somewhat miraculously) from last year’s life-threatening illness, and Jennifer, having withstood an arduously complicated pregnancy, is blessed every day by her perfectly healthy little girl Braden. Jennifer humbly recalls her vigil at Ann’s bedside as the least that she could do. “When Ian died, Ann was the first Baptist employee to arrive at my home. I felt alone and afraid and overwhelmed, and Ann was the bright light that carried me through the darkness. When Ann became sick, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere other than at her side. She’s not just a coworker, not just a friend; she saved me.” 
   Ann says once she was back on the job, once the fog had lifted, she began to realize just how fortunate she is to work where she does; she believes Jennifer’s unselfishness is the perfect embodiment of the climate and culture that make the Easley hospital something special. “When I look back on it,” she says, “it seems like every time I opened my eyes someone from the hospital was sitting there. And I wasn’t even a patient here! I was miles and miles from here. I can’t imagine how lonely and afraid I would have been without them. Some of the people who came to see me ... I didn’t even know they knew my name!” 
   Ann and Jennifer’s supervisor, director of business and organizational development Cam Underhill, describes both ladies as “blessings” and says she was deeply moved by their courage, strength and compassion. “There are so many things we take for granted,” she said. “We are surrounded every day by coworkers with personal lives that can be just as chaotic or exciting or heartbreaking as our own. In every department, someone is carrying a heavy burden. Sometimes you know about it; sometimes you don’t. But, regardless, you always possess the ability to help lighten that burden for them.” 
   Cam, of all people, knows the value of an encouraging word, a thoughtful card or a well-timed hug. Two week’s before the fatal accident that killed Jennifer’s husband, Cam’s world, already rocked by the early stages of a painful divorce, was turned upside down by a shocking breast cancer diagnosis. “I never knew how much getting a card could mean,” she says. “As I underwent chemo and became so sick I thought, for sure, I was going to die, I received hundreds of cards from my Palmetto Health friends. I realized, more than ever, how special it is to work somewhere where people really love and care for one another.” 
   As her department weathered one tragedy after another ... divorce, disease and death ... Cam says she was awed by the resilience of her team members Ann, Jennifer, Angie Reid, Andrea Stegall and Lorri Wade. “It was like ... just when you thought things couldn’t get worse ... BAM!” she says. “Yet, these amazing ladies rallied around one another in ways I still can’t believe.” She says in addition to meals and cards and prayers, it was not unusual for her coworkers to stage mini-celebrations and out-of-the-blue morale boosters. “There was even a day when we all received a pair of fun new socks, watched funny movies and blew bubbles together. Perfectly timed silliness. I’m telling you, most people have no idea the difference they can make in the life of someone who is suffering. It’s so powerful.” 
   When the subject of the “bubbles and socks” party comes up, a broad smile spreads across Ann’s face, boldly defying the life-or-death circumstances of last year. “That sense of caring and understanding is exactly why I work here,” she says. “I drive 30 miles every day ... both ways ... for the privilege of working at this hospital. I have the best job in the world, and I work in the presence of true heroes.”

   For most, there’s no avoiding the stress and strain of today’s frenetically-paced, angst-ridden holiday season. The crass commercialism we’ve complained about for decades is more relentless than ever. Crowded calendars. Crowded parking lots. Crowded shopping malls. What once was somewhat quaintly described as “hustle and bustle” has evolved into a clamoring, multi-media onslaught from which there seemingly is no escape.
     Or is there?
     Not far from here, America’s oldest family resort area offers beleaguered purists a peaceful respite from today’s holiday hoopla. Georgetown, one of the country’s top 100 small towns, somewhat secretly possesses a timeless charm and rustic ambience that are capable of cleansing even the most bitter or over-stimulated palates. Georgetown is waiting to rekindle your Christmas spirit.
     Ann Carlson declares there is redemption and serenity around every corner in the coastal haven. “This is the only place I’ve ever lived that truly felt like home,” she says. “And it felt like that the minute I arrived here.” Carlson moved to Georgetown from California eight years ago and opened Harborwalk Books in Front Street’s “Rainbow Row” of specialty stores. “The more people I meet here, the more I find that Georgetown speaks to each of them in the same inviting tones.”
     According to Carlson, that “feeling of home” is pervasive along the city’s downtown harbor walk, and, when decorated for the holidays, Georgetown’s tree-lined historic neighborhoods offer a refreshing return to a simpler time. She says the really lucky holiday visitors will arrive early enough to enjoy an omelet or Red Neck Eggs Benedict with a cup of coffee at the Thomas Café. Located next to the Old Market Building clock tower, the 80-year-old landmark cafe serves breakfast and lunch every Saturday and brunch on Sundays.
     From there, Carlson suggests visitors set out on foot to browse through Front Street’s unique selection of shops and galleries. “We don’t do chain stores here,” she says. “So, the folks who are tired of the department stores and malls … the folks who are looking for truly special, one-of-a-kind gifts … they’re in for a real treat.” Framed artwork, collectibles and antiques. Designer apparel, rare books, fine jewelry, china and crystal. The shops of Georgetown are only the beginning. Nearby Andrews and Pawley’s Island offer similarly sublime shopping alternatives.
     Those who arrive early in the season will want to take in Front Street’s annual Jingle Walk or the county’s festive Christmas Parade before enjoying a few, restful hours of local sightseeing. Touring the historic neighborhoods and homes of Georgetown is a delightfully transcendent experience throughout the year; however, the elegant decorations and crisp temperatures of the holiday season render the local scenery picture perfect. Lead your own walking tour or hire a guide, but don’t miss the exquisitely decorated Kaminski House Museum, a Colonial home furnished with American and English antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries. And seriously consider a short drive to the meticulously preserved Hampton and Hopsewee Plantations or the Hobcaw Barony natural preserve and wildlife refuge.
     Though deciding where to have dinner will not be easy, the area’s famous selection of casual waterfront restaurants serving up mouthwatering Lowcountry fare make any decision a good one.
     And, afterwards, deciding where to spend the rest of the evening will be considerably easier. “Nights of a Thousand Candles” transforms nearby Brookgreen Gardens’ already magnificent acres-upon-acres of art and nature into a spectacular holiday wonderland the first three weekends in December.
     Vice president of marketing Helen Benso promises their ninth annual event is even bigger and brighter than ever. “It’s unlike anything else you will experience in the Carolinas this Christmas,” she says. “The lights and decorations, music and entertainment are timeless and unforgettable.” Chorale groups, hand-bells, a one-man Christmas Carol and world-famous Carolina Opry alumni perform as visitors stroll through breathtaking gardens festooned with twinkling lights, floating lanterns and luminaries. Benso says, “It’s the perfect way to end your day in Georgetown.”
     To plan your family’s escape from seasonal stress and travel through time to a holiday paradise, go to www.visitgeorgetowncountysc.com.

   You don’t have to be a genius to be ingenious. You just need a good idea and the guts to do something about it. And good ideas happen all the time! You’ve probably had a dozen or so just this week. 
   Ingenuity is equal parts inventiveness and imagination. It’s about creativity and skillfully adapting a means to an end. It’s originality and resourcefulness. And it’s a trait you can bet belongs more to the cunning and the clever than to the obviously brilliant. It’s less Einstein … more MacGyver. 
   The guy who invented those cardboard coozies they wrap around paper coffee cups these days probably didn’t have a degree in quantum physics. He just got tired of burning his hands and did something about it. Some other guy (probably not a rocket scientist) got tired of driving off with his gas cap sitting on his trunk and, voila, now they’re actually attached to our cars! That’s ingenuity, folks! 
   And I’m pretty sure most of us are born with it. Want proof? Consider the inventiveness and sheer cunning of just about any second grader. Watch them try to get a Frisbee out of a tree or a baseball out of a sewer drain. Cookie jar way up on top of the fridge? Give my 7-year-old a belt, a stack of books, some Silly Putty and about five minutes. 
   Earmuffs, trampolines, popsicles, Braille … all invented by kids! Because kids (most of them) are uninhibited, unfiltered and unafraid to be silly, much of what they think, say and do is ingenious, really. Think outside the box? They haven’t even learned to think inside the box yet. Ingenuity, folks. It’s instinctive. The inhibitions, filters and fears are learned! 
   Your Winter 2006 edition of PalmettoScope celebrates the spirit of ingenuity and innovation evident throughout Palmetto Health. Inside, you’ll get a closer look at our brand new Heart Hospital, South Carolina’s first free-standing hospital dedicated solely to cardiac care. You’ll learn about all sorts of new gizmos, procedures and programs being used on all three campuses and about existing equipment and employees being used in exciting, innovative ways. And, with any luck, the information and ideas inside might even inspire a few ingenious thoughts of your own! They’re in there. 
   Don’t be afraid to share them! Sure, some of your ideas will turn out to be not-so-brilliant. For every Eli Whitney, there’s a Wile E. Coyote. But, remember, Orville and Wilbur crashed hundreds of ill-conceived aircraft before finally taking flight, and if Thomas Edison hadn’t possessed the courage to pursue that wacky light bulb idea of his, we’d have never stopped bumping into coffee tables late at night (and who knows what would appear above the heads of cartoon characters when they have great ideas?)! 
   Remember, you don’t have to be a genius to be ingenious! It’s how you look at stuff. Our next great invention might be right under your nose. Many modern day conveniences were total accidents (Velcro, cellophane, penicillin, potato chips), and the rest began as oddball uses for existing resources. George Washington Carver came up with 300 uses for peanuts, including linoleum and shaving cream. Ben Franklin used a key and a kite string to make electricity, and M.C. Hammer used an old Rick James song and some really bad pants to make a fortune! What’re you waiting for? 
   P.S. Little known fact. When translated literally, the saying “Eureka” (attributed to ancient mathematician Archimedes) actually means “You can’t touch this.”