Sick mom couldn't go outside so her son-in-law brought the garden to her — 'He's a keeper'

Blooming flowers, dewy leaves, grooving trees, and buzzing bees — nature is what decorates our mundane life with beauty. Most of us spend our prime years confined within 4 walls — working at an office building, partying in clubs, and resting inside our houses — forgetting the essence of nature and how it can heal us. But, Karen Shields — who goes by the username @realkarencontent on Instagram — shared a video that proves her husband surely understood the value of the greenery and colorful flowers, doing something wholesome for her mother during her hospice.  

The content creator, Karen, lives with her husband in Arkansas and decided to have her mother stay with them so they could provide good hospice care. Her 83-year-old mother, who has been growing old and senile day by day, needed special care and attention, but her husband realized that something was missing at their home — colorful flowers. He could not bring the garden inside the room, nor could he set her bed out in the yard; therefore, he did something smart to keep her in touch with the colors outside while she could rest peacefully on her bed.

With some smart arrangements and pivoting, he repositioned some of the large flower pots at a certain angle, which would be visible to his mother-in-law from inside her room. Her bed was placed right opposite the wall with a large window, and thus, her view was filled with hues and her life, with brightness. Flowers make our lives so much brighter — their soothing colors and fragrances can act as immediate mood-lifters. That is why people love gifting flowers to loved ones, especially those who are sick, and that is why Karen’s husband felt the flowers should be within his mother-in-law's range of visibility.

Validating the importance of flowers in a sick person’s life, a study by Seong-Hyun Park and others reveals that flowers can turn out to be one of the most inexpensive, noninvasive, and complementary medicines for patients. Those with flowers in their view are likely to experience lower systolic blood pressure and heart rate, lower ratings of pain, anxiety, and fatigue compared to those who are kept in their absence. Further, the study shares that not only flowers but also non-flowering plants have similar healing powers, suggesting that keeping indoor plants is one of the best options to keep the environment inside the room positive and soothing.

After watching the heartfelt video, many people exclaimed that the man is a “keeper.” @susanjackson2000 wrote, “You are all so blessed to have each other,” while @hollyjoymamabear expressed, “How sweet!! So glad she is home with you! You two are amazing, taking such good care of her and making her life so special!!” @cricketscott62 dropped a beautiful note: “I’ve been following your parents’ journey. This just made my day to see your sweet husband show such kindness. Not that I’m surprised, but it just brought such joy and a smile to my face. Keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers,” and @kfkinsf suggested, “Maybe put up a bird feeder. My Mom enjoyed this while on hospice.”

You can follow Karen Shields (@realkarencontent) on Instagram for more wholesome content.