Shepherd Center Apparel Prompts Outpouring of Gratitude

Shepherd Center staff members and former patients tell about their experiences when wearing their Shepherd Center shirts in their communities and while traveling. Read our stories and add yours in our comments section below.

• “I love to wear Shepherd Center gear when traveling, particularly in the Atlanta airport. Someone always tells me a story about someone they know who was a patient here, a friend or family member who works here and how much they love it, or that they volunteered with us. This summer, someone picked up my whole airport restaurant tab because they said that people who work at Shepherd are angels. This fall, when my mom came to visit, I bought her a fleece shirt from the Shepherd Center Auxiliary sale, because a cold front was moving in. She wore it to Helen, Ga., and all weekend long, she kept getting comments about how proud she must be to have a daughter who worked at Shepherd Center. It's so nice to see that our work is recognized beyond these walls.” – Laurie Nash, Ph.D., Rehabilitation Psychologist
   
• “I always get stopped when I wear my Shepherd Center T-shirts on the weekends. Once I was at a dog park, and everyone started talking about the therapy dogs at Shepherd. Another time I was going through a store’s checkout line, and the cashier said, ‘I'm not even going to ask you if you want to donate to the Children’s Miracle Network. I bet you donate to Shepherd!’” – Betsy Fox, Former Director of Human Resources
   
• “I was in a hotel lobby in New Orleans, and the father of a former patient shouted out across the room for me when he saw the Shepherd Center shirt I was wearing. I learned that the patient was doing well and that he and his father were attending a festival in New Orleans.” – Larry Bowie, Director of Public Relations and Marketing
   
• “I belong to the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. We planned a family day outing last year on the Blue Ridge Railroad for club members and their families and friends. I wore a Shepherd Center baseball cap and a Shepherd Center polo shirt for the day's journey. At the snack stand near the train ride's beginning, the lady running the stand would not take my money for a Coke or snack and said, ‘Shepherd Center was so good to her family.’” – Scott Sikes, Executive Director, Shepherd Center Foundation
   
• “I was buying a headlight for my car at an auto parts store, and the clerk noticed my Shepherd Center shirt. He asked if I work at Shepherd and wanted to thank me for the excellent brain injury rehabilitation care his relative had received at Shepherd. Others in the store heard the conversation and added that they knew of others who had been Shepherd patients and had also received excellent care.” – Jane Sanders, Associate Director of Public Relations
   
• “When we went to St. Simons Island (Ga.), there was a young waiter working at a restaurant there. He asked where I was from, and I told him Jeff Davis County, Ga. He asked where I did therapy, and I told him Shepherd Center. Small world.... he was there the year before for a traumatic brain injury and was now attending Georgia State University, the same college I attended, to become a physical therapist. I did not have on a Shepherd Center shirt that day, but I had my chair on.” – Maria Rea, Former Spinal Cord Injury Patient

Shepherd Center shirts, which range in price from $12.95 to $17.95, and other Shepherd-themed items are available from the Shepherd Apothecary on the first floor of the hospital. Store hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. You can reach the Apothecary by phone at 404-350-7743.