In 2013, Jackie Bruning’s son, Jon David Bruning, had just graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and had gotten his first job in Fayetteville.
That same summer, on the July Fourth weekend, he and his friends went to the Elk River in Noel, Missouri, to float.
“There is a road that goes over the Elk River, and a lot of kids were jumping off,” Jackie Bruning said. “My son dove off, and it was not as deep as they thought.
“He was instantly paralyzed from the chest down. He was flown to [Mercy Hospital Springfield in Springfield, Missouri], and eventually, we got him to the [University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center] in Little Rock, where he had surgery and was stabilized for 11 days before he went to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.”
In caring for her son these past seven years and working closely with his doctors, Bruning realized “what a truly difficult job our medical staff has, so I am always looking for ways to support and encourage them,” she said.
Therefore, since the coronavirus pandemic began, Bruning, her family and volunteers have been providing meals to staff in several critical-care areas “who have been working night and day since the virus hit.”
She said the nurses at Hospice Home Care on Bowman Road in Little Rock work continuous, seven-day shifts, so she took meals to them that were home-cooked, sanitized and delivered outside the door.
“We have also delivered to a pharmacy in a hospital and an emergency room,” she said. “This week, we will be ordering and having meals delivered from local restaurants to another hospital’s respiratory department and intensive-care unit, where they are caring for coronavirus patients directly.
“In addition, we will leave 150 snack bags for the emergency-room doctors at UAMS this week so they can grab a quick bite as needed.”
Suzy Lloyd, a registered nurse at Baptist Health in Little Rock, has known Bruning for a long time and is best friends with Bruning’s sister. Lloyd is the quality nurse for the intensive-care unit at Baptist where food was delivered.
“Our nurses’ faces lit up because it absolutely makes everybody happy during such a sad time,” Lloyd said. “It gives them something to be happy about, and it keeps them going.
“For someone to show you that they are helping you, it gives you energy through the day.”
Lloyd said Bruning has always been involved with helping others.
“She collects money and clothing for veterans,” Lloyd said. “She is one of those people who is always going to help someone. She just goes above and beyond.
“Some people just go the extra mile for others. She rallies the troops in a time of need.”
Lloyd said that while hospital workers are thankful to still have jobs, their work does add extra weight and stress.
“There is that added fear of us becoming ill or bringing illness to our families at home because we are right in the middle of it,” Lloyd said.
Bruning said she has a lot of caring friends and relatives who are always looking for ways to help, but it is hard to know how to help with this situation and still be safe.
“As we heard more and more stories about our medical personnel and what they were going through, it seemed like a comforting, good meal was the best way to support them,” Bruning said. “They are literally putting their lives on the line for us each day.
“This is such a small thing we can do from the safety of our homes to support them.”
She said the one bright spot in this whole ordeal is watching the community come together in a time of need. She emphasized that her group is not the only one helping during this time, but several groups are stepping up.
“I’m glued to Facebook right now, as I know others are, looking for ways to help,” Bruning said. “People are literally begging to help others.
“We are seeing people’s true colors, and it makes me so proud of our community, state and nation.”
Bruning has lived in Maumelle for 29 years, and she and her husband own Rentway Mobile Storage Co. and a real estate development company called Terraforma LLC.
“Our biggest need right now is donations so we can purchase meals from our local restaurants, thereby supporting them as well,” Bruning said. “Last week, the meals we took were home-cooked, including 21 chicken pot pies, and some friends made chili, but even though precautions were taken to sanitize and deliver the meals safely, it was causing a lot of anxiety, and I ultimately have to honor those feelings.
“So we are raising funds to purchase those meals from local restaurants, instead, to help them and not put anyone at risk.
“So many people are hurting right now, with the loss of jobs, so it is really difficult to ask too much of people,” Bruning said. “But I have a great group of friends and family that always welcome a chance to give back.
“I think that is true of most people right now. They want to help; they just don’t know how. A good meal was the one thing I kept hearing over and over that was needed. And I think food is a universal ‘love language.’”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.