A donor known only by the name Eric recently brought smiles to the faces of 25 patients at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital with surprise bouquets of flowers in honor of his mother, who died in 2021.
“At 10 years old, my dad suggested that I give my mom flowers on my birthday, not hers,” Eric wrote in a note that accompanied each bouquet. “This became a tradition from that moment on. . . . I hope these flowers make you feel as special as they made her feel.”
Happy birthday, Eric — your mission has been accomplished.
“We often receive and enjoy beautiful arrangements delivered to the hospital following local social events and parties,” Althea Mills, chief nursing officer, said in an email. “However, this anonymous donation of 25 bouquets touched all of our hearts” because of the way it honored Eric’s late mother.
Anna Koncelik of Sag Harbor was on the receiving end of one such bunch of flowers while recuperating from an emergency appendectomy last week. She said the uplifting scent of the bluish-purple hyacinths and other blossoms, sitting next to her bed, had filled her room.
“I really love flowers and I thought, ‘Wow,’ “ Ms. Koncelik said by phone last Thursday. “First I wondered what family member sent me flowers, and then I read the note and I was amazed that someone would do this. Over the past few days I’ve been contemplating it and I think it’s nice, and mysterious. There are so many things I feel like asking the person who sent them.”
