Beginnings and Ends Katherine is always a ray of sunshine. She shines brighter than me. From her stories about traveling throughout Europe, to her descriptions of her children and grandchildren, her age and experience always shine through her conversations. Every time I talk to her, she never fails to remind me to enjoy life. Her … Continue reading “Beginnings and Ends”
Author: A Student
I can’t go on. I’ll go on.
I can’t go on. I’ll go on. I have been visiting June this past year. She is a sweetheart. She is very kind, very considerate, and an easy woman to talk to. When I first met June with Mary (our volunteer coordinator), I was nervous. Meeting a new person with fewer than 6 months to … Continue reading “I can’t go on. I’ll go on.”
Meaningful Relations
I have been a hospice volunteer for about two semesters and I have gotten to know some of the most beautiful individuals. I have had the wonderful opportunity to make meaningful relationships with Mr. McBride, Anita, and Helena. Mr. McBride is an amazing human being who has lived with many decades of history. He is … Continue reading “Meaningful Relations”
My First Hospice Experience
I remember how nervous I felt before starting hospice volunteering because the concept of death was very frightening to me. During my senior year of high school, I lost my grandpa. Experiencing my first loss from someone that was so close to me was unbelievably hard. It made me question whether I could even go … Continue reading “My First Hospice Experience”
An Unexpected Friend
One of my most meaningful hospice relationships formed about halfway through my experience as a volunteer this past year. It was a pretty slow day so I was helping with random office work behind the front desk during the first half of my shift. As I was doing office work with one of the other … Continue reading “An Unexpected Friend”
How Visiting a Hospice Patient Let Me Revisit The Concept of Death
I have been lucky during my hospice experience to have the same patient since I was assigned her in November. I have been able to visit her fourteen times. The first day I was so nervous to go in her room and meet her. I wondered if she would know why I was there; I … Continue reading “How Visiting a Hospice Patient Let Me Revisit The Concept of Death”
To Look Death in the Eye
It was one hot, sunny day in October. I was nervous, pacing around my room. I wasn’t quite sure what to think. It was the day of my very first patient visit with Holisticare. We carpooled to the home, we parked the car, we walked into the building and signed in. I had no expectations, … Continue reading “To Look Death in the Eye”
Death and Communication
Hospice care is something I experienced first hand prior to this year. In 2007, as my mother was in her final weeks battling stomach cancer, we moved her from our home to a hospice care facility. Although I was only twelve, I remember this move as the time I finally realized that her death was … Continue reading “Death and Communication”
A New Perception of Death – My Experience as a Hospice Volunteer
In his The New York Times article “What Our Cells Teach Us About a Natural Death,” Haider Warraich writes, “We humans spend much of our lives denying death. Death, however, is not the enemy. If there is an enemy, it is the fear that death arouses.” I felt this enemy besiege my family as my … Continue reading “A New Perception of Death – My Experience as a Hospice Volunteer”
Acknowledging Death
Despite my interest in medicine and treatment of the ill throughout most of my life, death and dying have always been fairly distant concepts. When I once imagined medicine I fell into the trap, one that I believe is very common in society, that medicine is all about life: treating illnesses that challenge life, prolonging … Continue reading “Acknowledging Death”