School: Bryn Mawr

Perhaps the most meaningful relationship I have had with a hospice patient was with a woman who I will call Rebecca, a name I have borrowed from a wooden sculpture she created. From the first day I met her, I could tell that Rebecca was a free-spirit. For most of her life, she created beautiful pieces … Continue reading “Rebecca’s Sculptor”

The patient I spent the most time with was one who has been bedbound for years following his stroke and consequent paralysis. Over the months I visited him, I’d like to think I became a valuable confidante. He would not only tell me stories of his rich and fruitful life before his stroke, but also … Continue reading “Don’t Count The Days. Make The Days Count.”

I entered this hospice volunteer program with perhaps more exposure to medicine and serious illness than the average student. Over the past several years, I’ve done a lot of shadowing with a trauma and acute care surgery team. I’ve witnessed sickness and death. These experiences have been very informative and important to my growth as … Continue reading “Connection Makes a Difference”

In September, I had the chance to meet Madge. Madge had been at the care center for a while before I began to visit her every Saturday. She was always either sleeping in her bed or chair. I tried waking her up at first, but when that didn’t work, I tried visiting at different times … Continue reading “Moments to Memories”

Dr. H struck me as a very sweet-tempered and genuinely caring person when I first met him. This has not changed as I have gotten to know him better. When his eyes light up at the mention of his wife coming to visit, or when his voice speaks of his children’s achievements with a father’s … Continue reading “Hospice and Me: A Reflection on Patient Encounters”

She cried out, “Mother, mother! Don’t leave me!” I had recently concluded our visit and was walking away when Ms. B began to wail these words. My throat tightened, and I was compelled to return to sit with her. Drawing on the volunteer training, I investigated her feelings by asking a few questions. Ms. B … Continue reading “Not Dying Alone”

After nearly one academic year of participating in this hospice program, there is one event that stands out to me the most. It was the first patient assigned to me that lived with her husband and was in the late stages of Parkinson’s. She could not speak nor move, however, she was aware of her … Continue reading “Dying As a Story”

Growing up, I had only been exposed to one particular physician image; the hero doctor. As a child, the carefully constructed representation of physicians as miracle workers was very appealing. The doctor was the champion of life, prolonging it and saving it, always resulting in smiles and joy from families and patients. I desperately wanted … Continue reading “Death as Part of Life”

I had never thought about death and how people should spend the time in the end deeply before participating in this program. It is always very difficult to relate myself to death and even relate death to anything else. But now, I feel I can count the steps of death and depict the anxious approaching … Continue reading “Sparkling in the End”

In our orientation meeting we chose some words we identified death with. I chose the word “friend”. I felt that death can be a wave of relief, an exit from pain, and can be a friend to those nearing it. In my hospice volunteer experience, I learned a few more things. Death comes often and … Continue reading “Death as a Friend”