By Karen E Robinson, Medi Hospice Volunteer Coordinator

Stories from the heart bring us encouragement and uplift our spirits, helping us to remember that life is precious. Hospice volunteers are out in the homes and facility rooms of the dying every day. They give of themselves for the simple joy of knowing

that the recipient has been touched by unconditional love. Volunteers have no agenda but to bring a smile to a lonely man’s face. Whether it is a toothy grin or outright chuckle the life course has been altered. A day has been brightened. The life of the terminally ill is doomed to be shortened by a disease they can’t control. There are no more treatment solutions; there are no more transplants to be done; there might seem to be no hope…However we look, hope is always available in abundance. Hospice is all about hope; hopefulness in a future free from the agony of pain; hopefulness in quality time spent with dear loved ones and friends; hopefulness in the realization of a life well lived.

Volunteers giving of themselves to make a difference are often surprised by the blessings they receive and the experiences they encounter. Some of these experiences are wonderful and sad simultaneously. Some of the blessings are completely unexpected. However, one thing can be certain: hospice volunteering will never be predictable.

In the following paragraphs I am going to share some real life hospice volunteer stories. After interviewing a prospective volunteer yesterday I reflected on the questions he asked me and how the answers I gave were wrapped up with a story of a real hospice volunteer experience. After working as a Volunteer Coordinator with hospice for 10 years I have many stories to tell. Here the stories are just a small sampling. May they be as blessed in the telling as they were in the living.

💖On a clear day in October I assigned a male volunteer to visit a man, who in his 50’s had a terminal disease that was ravaging his body. His wife, the caregiver, worked out of the home as she was unable to leave him alone. They were avid cat lovers and owned more than 6 Maine Coon cats. These were lovable kitties, but he was warned that they do not generally warm up to strangers. On his first visit, as he sat with the couple in their living room – surrounded by the cats! They eyeballed him carefully and he ignored their presence, instead focusing on the patient. As he sat visiting and listening to the patient’s life story he felt a movement behind him and all at once a kitty was in his lap and beside him on the back of the couch. The lap cat purred and snuggled, while the other proceeded to sniff and lick his ear! Surrounded by these cats and not wanting to offend the couple he endured the ‘love’. They later told him that he was welcome back into their home any time and that the cats had given their seal of approval! He visited this man for many months helping him to clean out his home and garage in preparation for his death.

💖The day that the patient was admitted to hospice it was clear that a volunteer assigned would need to be willing to emotionally accept the very poor conditions in which this person was living. She was a young 50 and she lived in a one room trailer with no running water or toilet. She used a bucket to relieve herself and feebly transported that bucket in a child’s wagon to the neighboring trailer where her daughter, boyfriend and grandchild lived. She owned 2 dogs and they were her babies and longtime companions. However, the dogs were not gentle and fluffy, but big and vicious – at least to a stranger. When I asked the volunteer to care for this patient she was cautious and rather apprehensive. However, the compassionate spirit of this volunteer transcended her outward fears and she agreed to visit this patient. Upon her arrival for the initial visit the 2 dogs bounded out of the trailer, barking viciously and jumping on her car. She rolled the window down ever so slightly and the patient was able to shoo the dogs away. The volunteer was able to visit and get to know the patient. Her one room trailer was hardy bigger than her bed. She had little food and it was nearly the holidays. The volunteer suggested that they have a trip out into the city for their next visit. The patient had not been out for many months and was absolutely ecstatic at this opportunity.

As Christmas approached the volunteer discovered that her only relatives were leaving her and traveling out of state. She hatched a plan to visit the patient on Christmas Day and take her to have a meal. This was the last Christmas the patient would likely experience and the joy she experienced that day was indescribable. The hospice volunteer planted seeds of encouragement and hope into the heart of this patient.

💖The patient was estranged from her two adult children and there were no other relatives

involved in her life. For the most part she was alone. After her admission to hospice she requested a volunteer. When the volunteer met the patient her heart was broken, for the loneliness this elderly lady experienced was crushing. The volunteer called me and requested to visit the patient twice a week.

We adjusted the visit orders on her care plan and the volunteer became like a second daughter to the patient. With the attention from the hospice staff and the great care and love they exhibited the patient actually started to thrive again. She lived for many months beyond what the doctors predicted. The hospice volunteer was integral in her care. It might be said that love saved the day yet again.

💖The patient had end stage dementia and was non verbal. The volunteers – a mother and her teenage daughter visited the facility as hospice volunteers. On their initial visit with

the patient she was reclining back in a jerry chair. The patient had end stage dementia and was non verbal. The volunteers – a mother and her teenage daughter visited the facility as hospice volunteers. On their initial visit with the patient she was reclining back in a jerry chair. The family had set up a CD boom box in her room because she loved music - especially Frank Sinatra. Since the chair was on wheels they thought that it might be a great idea to put on her favorite music and dance.

Now dancing with a jerry chair might seem odd but to this precious lady it was wonderful. Her eyes started to shine and a little smile crept across her face. One volunteer swayed the jerry chair and the other volunteer danced a waltz in front of the patient. A sight to behold indeed, but for the patient it brought tears to her eyes. Do we know what she was thinking - no? Do we believe that she was remembered years gone by when she danced with her sweetheart to the tunes of old - Yes! The hospice volunteers approached their visit as an opportunity to make a demented lady happy - if only for a moment. Can we measure the joy she experienced that day? Possibly not - only her and God know for sure what she was thinking that sunny day in March.

💗This much we do know for certain, the hospice volunteers were willing to do whatever it took to bring a little joy into the life of a terminally ill person.💗

Listen, a poem by Karen Robinson

When you listen I am made to feel worthy and special.

As you listen, please lean in towards me so I can see your eyes and if they sparkle?

Listening to me might be hard; I may have trouble with my words...

Listen to me, I have something to say.

I'm dying, could you listen?

Your attention gives me pleasure, I know that you care.

I may look helpless, don't judge, I'm not.

I need to express my discouragement at this weak, sick tent. It frustrates me so...

Could I tell you?

Would you want to know?

When you listen my heart soars in the moment.

The touch of your hand brings comfort and soothes my soul, weary though it is.

Am I irrational, angry, sad or even glad? Do I even know?

Fret not, as I know not myself.

I need you to listen and to touch.

You see my problems cannot be solved.

I NEED your gentle soothing words for they calm my ailing soul.

Others who deny my feelings hurt me. They defeat me.

They listen with judgment, scorn or disdain.

But YOU Hospice Volunteer!

When you sit and smile my heart wants to melt!

Thank you volunteer!

You'll never know how much you mean to me!

Volunteers are an integral part of the interdisciplinary team approach to hospice care. They join RN's, LPN's CNA's, Chaplains, Social Workers, and physicians in caring for patients.

Some of the things a Medi Hospice volunteer might assist with include:

· Reading from a favorite book or the Bible.

· Watch over the patient while the primary caretaker takes a break or runs errands.

· Listen to stories and memories that are meaningful to the patient.

· Support for an overwhelmed caretaker by listening without judgment.

· Using a special talent such as music to bring joy to the heart of the patient and their families.

· Visit patients with certified animals to offer pet therapy.

Hospice volunteers are very unique individuals who have a deep sense of compassion for those who are terminally ill. They give selflessly to our patients. They hold a hand that is in need of gentle touch. They read a book that tired eyes cannot see. They sit at the bedside bringing a smile and a quiet presence to one who needs both. When there is soup to heat the volunteer prepares; when there is fresh air to breath the volunteer escorts the patient to the window or porch; when the day calls for a joke or poem the hospice volunteer complies.

They are flexible, punctual, reliable and intuitive.They give from their heart, willingly, openly, without restraint.

Medi Hospice VOLUNTEERS ARE WONDERFUL, GIVING PEOPLE!

WE APPRECIATE THEIR GRACIOUSNESS AND LOVE!!

I am interested in volunteering. How do I learn more about hospice volunteering opportunities? What training do volunteers need?

Volunteering in hospice is a choice that creates rewards for patients and families. The ultimate surprise is the growth a volunteer develops from learning more about themselves with every visit to their patient. You learn to communicate in ways that increase your own appreciation of life. Your views of daily situations take on a holistic perspective. Nothing will ever be the same in your personal or professional life if you are correctly trained as a hospice volunteer.