dharmagrl

Join Date 02/2004

Touched.

When one of my patients passes away, I make a point of reading their obituary in the paper. I don't exactly know why I do it, but if I were pressed for an explanation of it, I guess I'd say that it gives me a sense of closure.

Because I was ill last week I didn't get to see the obit of the patient I sat with Friday before last. However, I was able to find it online this morning.

His family thanked me. ME. For the 'loving kindness' I showed their relative.

That's never happened to me before. It's an incredibly moving thing; I still have tears in my eyes as I think about it.

I'm touched that they appreciated what I did, that they felt like my actions made a difference. I sometimes forget that other people view what I do for hospice as unusual or extraordinary; it's almost rountine to me. So, to be thanked in someone's obituary is a very touching thing.

I'm going to save this particular obituary, and whenever hospice care gets me stressed out I'm going to read it. It'll serve as a reminder that what I do really does make a difference.

I DO make a difference.

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That was very thoughtful of them. They obviously appreciated your efforts. Not everyone would choose to do what you do.

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Yes you DO make a difference! A POSITIVE difference in people's lives and also in their passing.

Thank God the relatives stepped up and acknowledged you and your contribution too.

Even if family isn't there to thank you, you have the knowledge of how much you help

I'm happy for you dharma.

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The comfort you give is important. What you do is immeasurable to families. How gracious of them to acknowlwdge you during their greiving. God bless you.

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And I am sure this will not be the last time that you will be thanked for making a difference in one of your patient's lives.

It is a special thing that you are doing.

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JillUser

Join Date 11/2003

+17

It's nice to be appreciated. You deserve it.

I totally agree. Glad you realize it.

Best wishes.

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My uncle just passed from lung cancer this weekend. I hope there had been someone like you there for him at his hospice, but I doubt it. You're a special girl.

Thanks.

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I am glad you got the recognition. I know that is not why you do it, but it is nice to see that you are appreciated. I am glad you could see that in writing.

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That was very thoughtful of them. They obviously appreciated your efforts.

It was, especially as they were in a lot of emotional pain because of this person's death.

Yes you DO make a difference! A POSITIVE difference in people's lives and also in their passing

I hope so. That's what I set out intending to do when I visit with a patient, anyway.

How gracious of them to acknowlwdge you during their greiving.

That's what I thought. It was really nice of them to do it.

And I am sure this will not be the last time that you will be thanked for making a difference in one of your patient's lives

I found out this morning that I've been thanked before....the husband of the first patient I sat vigilance with sent a card to my boss asking her to please thank me for what I did for his wife, and a couple of other people have sent their thanks via my boss too. I just didn't know about it.

It's nice to be appreciated. You deserve it.

Yes it is, and thank you. I sometimes think that I'm too hard on myself because I really don't feel like I deserve it....but I'm working on that and I'm getting better about not being so self-deprecating.

I totally agree

Thank you!

Posted: Sunday, July 16, 2006
My uncle just passed from lung cancer this weekend

I'm sorry, Pseudo. I know that there's nothing I can say that will ease your pain or make his passing any easier to bear....but I do want you to know that I'm here for you and that if I could give you a hug, I would.

I hope there had been someone like you there for him at his hospice, but I doubt it. You're a special girl.

So you mean special as in have to wear a helmet all the time and ride the short bus to school? Sorry, I couldn't resist that......

I know that is not why you do it

You're right. It's not why I do it. However, it IS nice to be appreciated.

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So here is my take on hospice...

It's the only way to go. This past fall my wife's grandfather passed. I never really got to know my grandfathers well so he was as close as it gets for me. To have the hospice volunteer there in his home was amazing. She was there with a helping hand and there so the family could get a few minutes of rest.

What you do is amazing. It takes courage, conviction, caring, love, a strong heart, compassion and so many other traits that make a person outstanding. Out of all of the people that came to visit him in his last days, she was the one we counted on most.

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I don't know how you do it...but I am glad you do.

It is terrific you were recognized for your contributions in what must be the hardest thing a family faces.

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Darma,
I just read your "beliefs". They are the same as everyones. You just have a very angelic way of expressing them. All of them SOUND good. I ask this of you as well as anyone else who belives, "Where is your proof ?." Seritonin and dopimine in our brains is what makes us feel good, not a god.

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