A Nurse Is Bringing Light To A Dark Time With A Chandelier Made Up Of Vaccine Vials

Enlarge this image

Laura Weiss created the «Light of Appreciation to honor her fellow nurses who helped inoculate 82% of the population in Boulder, Colo.

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

hide caption

toggle caption

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

Enlarge this image

Laura Weiss used 271 glass vials of the Moderna vaccine and about 10 of the smaller Johnson & Johnson bottles to decorate the bottom tier of the Light of Appreciation.

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

hide caption

toggle caption

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

Enlarge this image

«I figured out how to drill holes and clean all the vials, and then I just started stringing them together with gage and crystals, Laura Weiss told NPR.

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

hide caption

toggle caption

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

Enlarge this image

Laura Weiss says she’s looking for a public permanent home for her Light of Appreciation.

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

hide caption

toggle caption

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

Laura Weiss says she’s looking for a public permanent home for her Light of Appreciation.

Laura Weiss/Courtesy of Laura Weiss

Weiss is looking for a permanent home for the chandelier

Public reaction to the chandelier has also been thrilling, Weiss gushed.

«It’s inspiring watching how people related to this and then also the community who came in and were so grateful, she said.

In some way, she and all of the nurses who brought the potentially life-saving medicine to the public are part of all of the weddings and the family reunions and the general healing that has begun after more than a year of isolation for many, she said.

«I have had people come in and just thank us because they could finally see their families again or have a wedding this summer. And it is really, really heartwarming, she said.

The Light of Appreciation is also for them: «I wanted to honor the people that actually received the vaccines, did the research and did not listen to misinformation, and have done it with intentions to help others.

«They inspire me as well, she added, which is why she wants to share the chandelier.

«Right now it’s in my living room, but I’m looking for a permanent home for it, Weiss said.

«Somewhere where people can see it and take a moment to be grateful that there is a vaccine, «because it wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t have one. There was nothing you could do and now there is, she said.