Literature Review

Liberty Hospice provides Thanksgiving for 7 families Lake Gaston Gazette-Observer, Gaston, NC; by Mark Mathews; 11/27/24 Liberty Hospice volunteers recently traveled to the Pleasant Hill Christian Church kitchen in Gasburg to prepare Thanksgiving meals for seven families. “The families were selected as those who would benefit the most by our wonderful Liberty Hospice Health Care team,” Liberty Hospice Regional Volunteer Coordinator Esther Harris said. “As it turned out, two of the families preferred to have us bring all the fixings to them and they were going to the cooking themselves for Thanksgiving.” ...  Harris approached DrugCo Discount Pharmacy Chief Financial Officer Neal White about helping her group with the Thanksgiving meals. She received a better-than-expected response. “I was looking for help to buy some turkey and maybe some ham,” Harris said. “Mr. White asked me how much I thought it would cost to do the entire meal for each of the seven families. I gave him a number and they donated the entire amount. So we thank DrugCo who is just a wonderful community partner.”

Nurse diagnosed with blood cancer fulfills dying wish to see new ‘Wicked’ movie Fox 13 Tampa Bay, FL: by Jennifer Kveglis; 11/26/24 A Tampa Bay area nurse who was diagnosed with blood cancer had one dying wish – to see the new movie "Wicked" in theaters. With the help of friends and family, that wish was fulfilled on Monday. Misty Steffen is a wife and mother, and she was also HCA Florida South Shore's chief of nursing. "I've loved every day of my life being a nurse," she said. "Twenty-six years that I got to be one and serve and love and decrease anxiety and increase trust and explain." ... [Description of her serious illness trajectory ...] "It's not what I thought would be the end of my story, but I'm at peace knowing whether I live or whether I die," she said. Steffen said she, her daughter and her husband always sang songs from "Wicked" in the car. Together, they've seen the musical on Broadway twice. Her last wish was to see the new movie in theaters. "The next thing I know he's [her husband] rented out the whole room in the theater," she said. HCA Florida Brandon paramedics, where Steffen worked too, as the assistant chief of nursing, transported her in their ambulance at no charge. "He's like we've got people who are going to come take you in an ambulance to ‘Wicked,’" she said. "I just started balling and I go...'what? Why am I so deserving of that?'" Steffen will spend the coming days surrounded by loved ones, many of whom flew in from all over the country. Editor's note: While this story appears to be focused on the movie "Wicked," it's more about relationships, meaning-making, quality of life, and ... her husband rented out the "whole room in the theater"! If you--like I--enjoy this movie weekend, Misty Steffen's story gives a new meaning to giving thanks, creating new memories from old for now and ahead. From Part 2 of Wicked, "... because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

No One Dies Alone: new Parker hospital program offers companionship to those at the end of life Parker Chronicle; by Haley Lena; 11/27/24 Katherine Wiley, a volunteer at AdventHealth Parker, was in the hospital’s emergency department when she saw first-hand how being alongside a stranger during their final moments of life can have a profound impact on those around them. Wiley sat with an elderly woman who was dying with no one around. The patient’s sons were trying to get to the hospital from Colorado Springs but didn’t make it in time. “When they got there, I told them that I had been with their mom so she was not alone and they were very grateful,” said Wiley. Wiley shared this story with the CEO of the hospital, Michael Goebel, at the annual volunteer luncheon last year, and the following week, the No One Dies Alone program was being set up. “We can provide companionship to patients in the dying process who are truly alone,” said Wiley. “In doing so, (it) provides a gift of respect and dignity to another human being at the end of life.” The volunteers of the program are called “compassionate companions.” They do not provide medical care, but they assist with comfort care measures – they sit beside the patient, hold their hands, play soothing music or read to the patients. For as many circumstances there are that lead a person to be hospitalized, there are also as many reasons why a patient is alone. The patient could have outlived other family members and friends, said Wiley, or are estranged from their family. It could be because the patients themselves don’t want to have their family see them die, but don’t want to be alone. Or they could be a John/Jane Doe who was in an accident. “We want to be there for them, whatever those reasons are,” said Wiley. “This sort of thing feeds my soul.”

How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days. ~ John Burroughs

You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you'll win, no matter what the outcome. ~ Patch Adams

I can't change you and you can't change me, but together we can work to change the world!  ~ Germany Kent

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one. ~ Dolly Parton

We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It’s our basic human right. ~ Aretha Franklin

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. ~  Aristotle

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. ~ Jimmy Johnson

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~ Mark Twain

I'd rather regret the risks that didn't work out than the chances I didn't take at all. ~ Simone Biles, Olympic medalist, gymnastics, 2016, 2021, 2024