The Colors of Caring

The magic number changes from day to day, but currently it’s 520. That’s how many colorful wristbands have been given to Ron Hardin, RN, by St. Jude patients and staff. The pediatric oncology nurse wears the bracelets on his arms as well as attached in bunches to a belt around his waist. Each band has special significance, because it represents a person who has touched Hardin’s life.

“It’s not the number of bands that’s important,” he says. “It’s who they’re from.”

Current and former patients often greet Hardin with the words, “Mr. Ron! Have you still got mine?” And he always does.

“I do this to keep my buddies with me,” says Hardin, who has worked in the hospital’s Medicine Room for 22 years. “They’ve graced me and blessed me, and it’s a privilege to have them with me every day.”