March of this year I read an article about Regina Holliday. Regina lost her husband to cancer, and also to a medical system that was thoughtless, inept, at times cruel and secretive.

Coming back from grief, Regina picked up her paintbrush and painted her sorrow. With that paintbrush she became a patient activist and has been painting patients’ stories ever since. Her mission is to help elevate patients to partners with their providers and to push for transparency in medical records and health information.

She paints her murals for a donation. You send her a jacket, tell her your story and when you get the jacket back with Regina’s mural painted on the back, the mutual agreement is you wear the jacket to at least 3 health events you attend.

I immediately sent Regina a jacket, and since I knew it would probably take a few months to get it back, I just as quickly forgot about it. Imagine my surprise when this October I was invited to speak at a health marketing conference and Regina was the keynote speaker.

I mentioned the jacket and told her about my work and, voila, today my Regina-painted jacked arrived in the mail. An early holiday gift!

These jackets Regina says is a way to display our patient stories and keep them alive in the public eye. If you attend health events and would like to be part of Regina’s Walking Gallery, click here for the information you need.

Thank you Regina. My jacket is off to Israel where I’ll be addressing the Israeli Diabetes Educators Association in January, Wisconsin next March for an ADA conference, and I’ll be strutting your stuff at the premiere Charles Best Diabetes Center in Toronto next April.