School: Villanova

The first patient I met moved me to tears. She was sitting in the lobby by herself. My volunteer coordinator said, “She is always here, the nursing staff almost always just put her here and leave her, shoving a day-old newspaper in her hand.” The newspaper was covered in grease and food crumbs. She had … Continue reading “A Reflection on My Experience as a Volunteer”

Throughout the past nine months, my experience as a hospice volunteer has taught me some of the most valuable lessons and equipped me with a better understanding of the balance between medical care and the beauty of human life. My weekly visits with patients allowed me to experience many aspects of end-of-life care and to … Continue reading “New Perspectives”

The patient I’ve been visiting for the past 5 months, “Elaine,” has extremely advanced vascular dementia. During my visits, I usually try to talk or read to her. Since she’s hard of hearing, I’ll get really close to her face and touch her arm. The touch will almost “wake” her up for a few seconds … Continue reading “Seeking Joy”

Watching Being Mortal and the prompts I received helped me view death a lot differently. I also took an APSD Preparing for Health Careers course at Villanova and it also gave us insight on the work of a hospice volunteer. We followed the story of one woman who was told by a family not to … Continue reading “My Experience”

A difficult problem arises as society advances and medical technologies and treatments improve. In times like these, it is hard not to strive for the most aggressive form of treatment for one’s patient in hopes of prolonging their life. Yet, the endeavor of the medical profession should not solely be based on survival, but overall … Continue reading “Being Comfortable With Death”

It is difficult to put experiences, much less people, into words. One could never do someone justice when describing all that they are, and how they have touched our lives. Nonetheless, it is important that we do so; we should not keep these experiences just for ourselves. This hospice experience was something I had never … Continue reading “A Glimpse into Two Lives”

A knock on the door goes unanswered. I step into the room, raise my voice to a stereo decibel, and say, “Hello Mr. Jackson!” Confused and dazed, Mr. Jackson responds, “Hello? What are you doing here?” I reassure him that I am just a guest there to chat and catch up on how things are … Continue reading “A Deeper Understanding of Dying”

Mother Teresa once said, “Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.” This quote embodies the goals of the Ascend Hospice program for which I volunteered. In our world, all humans … Continue reading “My Journey of Life and Death”

I have been volunteering with the aging population since middle school, so I jumped at the opportunity to join the Pre-Med Hospice Volunteer Program with Ascend. I have previously volunteered in nursing homes, but hospice has been an entirely different, difficult, and rewarding experience altogether. In my prior volunteer experience, I always dealt with long-term … Continue reading “A New Experience with the Aging Population: the Dying”

Throughout this year, I have visited two different patients. The first one, Ian, was easy to talk to. We were able to connect through conversations we had and activities we could do together. The second patient I visited, Jessica, was a very different experience, because dementia limited the ability for us to hold a conversation. … Continue reading “Death & Dying”