A thread of hope in every blanket

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Nancy Manchester might not work in patient care units, but her impact is felt there every day, quietly, warmly, stitch by stitch.

A certified CRCST and team member in the Sterile Processing Department at AdventHealth Castle Rock, her work ensures that instruments are safe and ready for use, but outside of her formal role, she’s found another way to care for patients, through hand-crocheted lap blankets.

Manchester has been crocheting since junior high, teaching herself long before online tutorials existed.

As a left-handed learner, she adapted on her own, developing a skill that would later become a ministry of comfort.

Over the years, she has poured her time into giving back, quilting, crocheting and contributing to efforts ranging from church groups to national organizations. She’s made more than 1,000 hats for missionaries and countless blankets, shawls and other handmade items.

Her latest project is especially close to her heart: lap blankets for patients undergoing infusion treatments at the Schrader Family Cancer Center.

Before the center opened, Manchester quietly delivered a collection of blankets to the volunteer coordinator, asking for nothing in return.

Her motivation is deeply personal. Cancer touched her family when her sister-in-law battled the disease for 10 years before passing in 2018.

Around that same time, Manchester experienced her own prolonged health journey, spending more than 100 days as an inpatient over six months. Though her illness was not cancer, the experience reshaped her perspective.

“I learned just how resilient we are,” she said. “Healing takes many forms.”

As Manchester crochets, she prays for the person who will receive each blanket and for the caregivers who walk alongside them.

She doesn’t measure her work in hours or output but in intention and impact.

Her hope is simple: that patients feel less alone.

“I hope they realize there are others who offer warmth, understanding and caring,” she said. “Maybe even sense that someone is walking alongside them.”

For Manchester, giving is not about recognition, it’s about connection. It’s about paying forward the compassion she once received and continuing a cycle of care that extends beyond clinical walls.

Whether it’s volunteering, leaving a note in the healing garden’s tiny giving library or offering a listening ear or a hug, small gestures can make a big difference.