This program affected me more than I could have ever expected when I first applied. I remember being really anxious about if the nurses would be mean, fitting it into my schedule, and mostly about being around patients on the verge of death, as I had never seen a dead body before. I was unsure of how … Continue reading “An Unexpected Interaction”
Author: A Student
Being a Hospice Volunteer – Combining Youth and Old
Throughout my year volunteering at Hospice, my character and personhood have grown in unique ways because of my experiences and interactions with the patients. Almost every Friday, I visit PCC for a couple of hours, and the aging clients that I have met have turned into inspiring compassions. They have grown on me so much … Continue reading “Being a Hospice Volunteer – Combining Youth and Old”
Hospice: The Caregiver and the Patient
Since attending a Catholic high school, I have had the importance of social justice engrained in me. I see service to my fellow man as a way to express my compassion and decency. When signing up to join this hospice program this year, I saw this as a new experience to add to my previous … Continue reading “Hospice: The Caregiver and the Patient”
A Different Experience, but an Experience Nonetheless
Throughout the span of the year, I have visited a single patient. She lived in her own home, a few houses down from one of her children. During the first semester, she had a consistent aid, but throughout the second semester, each time I visited there was a different aid. Throughout the year, there was … Continue reading “A Different Experience, but an Experience Nonetheless”
Lessons of a Hospice Volunteer
During my time in this Pre-Med Hospice Program, I have been lucky enough to make four wonderful friends to people who have entered the final stage of their lives. However, one of these relationships had a deeper impact on me than the others. Part of the reason why I think I had a deeper relationship … Continue reading “Lessons of a Hospice Volunteer”
Power of Voice
I was matched with a patient suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She was not very verbal since our first meeting. I spent most of the time just sitting with her and holding her hand. I did not talk to her a lot since I found it to be very awkward to hold a one-way conversation—I am … Continue reading “Power of Voice”
Ten Cents Down, Five Cents A Quarter Mile
In the future I have a goal. I wish to one day be able to study the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease, and at one point develop some form of treatment. As such, I think it is important that one studies not only the molecular aspects of disease, but also puts into perspective those that are … Continue reading “Ten Cents Down, Five Cents A Quarter Mile”
The Sound of Music and Connection
My only client was Ms. Jeanette Cunniff, a 102 year old widowed mother of 2 (youngest being 77 years old), therefore I will describe what made my relationship meaningful with her. Based on the training that I had with Ascend Hospice, it doesn’t seem like Ms. Cunniff is a typical hospice patient, and that she … Continue reading “The Sound of Music and Connection”
Hospice Volunteering Reflection
Beginning from the first meeting for our Hospice volunteering group, I knew this experience would be different than any other I had had in my undergraduate years. What stuck with me was the message of treating the whole person in Hospice, meaning not only the physical aspects of health, but the spiritual too. This idea … Continue reading “Hospice Volunteering Reflection”
Death is More
When asked why individuals want to become physicians, they often reply about the amazing experience that the medical career path provides, the lifelong relationships with patients, and their quest to establish their own heroic stories. Death is not often the motivation for wanting to become a doctor. Through Hospice, the experience of death, its meaning, … Continue reading “Death is More”