Out of all the many ways this year’s coronavirus pandemic has impacted the world, one of the most worrisome has been the isolation and loneliness experienced by the elderly. The negative mental health affects due to extended isolation has been documented within the medical community for decades.

A June article in USA TODAY highlighted the increase in elderly mortality after the onset of the pandemic. It wasn’t that the increase in elderly deaths were due to being infected by the virus, but still a result of the virus itself.

In Speaking with ‘A Second Opinion Podcast,’ loneliness and isolation expert Dr. Julian Holt-Lundstadt said “Lacking social connections, whether it be through social isolation, or loneliness, or poor-quality relationships…this can increase your risk for premature mortality from all causes.”

In an attempt to mitigate this risk, one woman in Scotland placed an online petition asking neighbors to send her grandmother cards for Christmas so that she wouldn’t feel so lonely this holiday season, as detailed by THE SCOTSMAN newspaper.

92-year-old Nancy Lethman rarely receives more than about 4 Christmas cards each year due to the fact that most of her friends have passed away.

Nancy, who is a mother to seven, grandmother to 17, great-grandmother to 46, and great-great-grandmother to 10, was facing a rather lonely Christmas due to Covid quarantine restrictions, but her granddaughter and care giver was determined to bring some holiday cheer to her Gran’s home.

44-year-old Leo Sheppard of Fife, Scotland posted her request in late October, hoping to receive around 30-40 cards or so from the community. Much to her surprise, her request went viral and instead of 30-40 cards from Fife, her grandmother began receiving upwards of 50 cards a day.

Nancy started receiving cards towards the end of November and has had well over 1000 cards delivered by Christmastime.

“I’m trying to climb the mountain of cards here. I’m shocked because I didn’t expect that. There are some beautiful cards and they’re from all over the world. It’s restored my faith in human nature,” Nancy said of the overwhelming surprise.

Leo stops by everyday to read Nancy’s deliveries of the day. She said her grandmother has received cards from all over the world, including the U.S., Canada, Spain, France, Italy, India, New Zealand, and Australia.

“I drop by daily and read them out to her, it’s quite time consuming but I don’t mind,” Leo shares. “She’s also had flowers, Christmas ornaments and chocolates.

“Kids from a school in Portugal all drew Christmas pictures for her. It’s amazing. There’s still 200 sitting that we need to get through. There’s at least 1,200 and they’re still coming in by the pile load.

“It’s just really nice to see how many people have taken the time. You can barely see her walls because they’re just everywhere.

“It’s not just cards, people are writing letters and letting her know about their lives and struggles. It’s letting my gran know that she’s not alone in the world.”

If there was any doubt before, this Christmas Nancy should know for certain that although her local friends may be dwindling, she now has a whole new community to remind her of how loved and special she is.