Hi, you can call me Jason, and during my journey as a volunteer for Anova, I was assigned about 3-4 patients over the course of my time here. One relationship that I found to be extremely meaningful was with my patient, who we can refer to as Adam. Unfortunately he recently passed away, but our time spent together was very eye opening to me as a person who wants to take up a career in the medical field. Building up the relationship with Adam did take a lot of time however, and it really tested me in terms of patience and understanding. It also showed me the variety of mixed emotions that can come with nearing the end of life. Adam was at first very against the idea of talking and communicating his feelings with me. It took a few meetings, like three to four times, before he would start replying and taking interest in the things I mentioned. It really taught me the usefulness of patience when dealing with people, especially the elderly or sick. I remember feeling frustrated after some of those first few meetings because I’d feel as if I had gotten nowhere with Adam. However, being able to overcome this really enlightened me on the benefits of being patient with people. Being able to remain calm and relaxed during interactions can really help you understand more of what is going on about the situation than being locked in your own preconceptions. As I applied this logic in my daily life, I noticed how much more stress free I tended to be, and I had many more positive interactions with people rather than always being in a rush. Even though we got to know each other a bit more and more with each visit, Adam wasn’t really the talkative type of person, but he still seemed to really enjoy my company as the weeks went by. It was at first challenging because talking is such a great way to express oneself, but of course it isn’t the only way to do so. So to try and keep our time enjoyable, I noticed Adam would watch a lot of TV in his room, so I’d make comments or small predictions, since it was usually gameshows he would have on. It proved to be an effective way of communicating with him versus talking to him directly. Being able to recognize other means of communication can be game changing because some people just interact with others in a different way and being able to see and adapt to that was a key skill I feel I picked up on. There were some hardships as he started to rapidly deteriorate because he became even less talkative towards them and really didn’t want to interact with people. It was kind of sad to witness, but it also taught me about some of the stages of grief people who are nearing the end of life go through. Being able to process that is different for everyone, and I was able to see that through all my patients, including Adam. Overall, the program and Adam, really expanded my horizons on the benefits of hospice care, but also a lot of more applicable skills to use in my career going forward.