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A Simple Phone Call Results in Better Support for Hospice Clients in North Lanark
“Hello, Janice? Jan here. I’m just calling to follow up on our emails. Do you have a minute?” That was the start of a conversation that resulted in a beneficial new collaboration between HHNL and the Lanark County Paramedic Service (LCPS). “Jan” is Jan Watson. Chair of the Board of HHNL and “Janice” is Janice Steele, Acting Commander of the Community Paramedicine Program at LCPS.
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Comfort Birds — a Gift from the Naismith Men’s Shed
This is an example of one of the organizations with which we are forming ties. We were approached by a member of The Naismith Men's Shed recently, asking us to do a presentation to their membership about what we do. The result was an offer to provide us with comfort birds. We are so pleased with this initiative. We have already given out seven of these little birds, and have been promised 40 more! Thank you, gentlemen!
The concept of comfort birds is hidden in the depths of carving history. Locally, our Mississippi Wood Carvers (about 15 members from Almonte, Carleton Place & area, some of whom are Men’s Shed members) tried their hand at these because (1) they use very little resources, (2) are a simple carving for new carvers to practice on, having little detail, and (3) they have a proven, useful track record.
That useful track record includes medically documented ability to lower blood pressure and pain in stressful or painful situations such as: sitting in a dentists chair, waiting for results in a doctor’s office or just about any situation that can make us tense or nervous.
How do they work? Very much like “pet rocks” were used in a past day. Just holding one in your hand in your pocket, rolling it around in your hand, gives us something on which to focus other than the stressor of the moment. Perhaps we may use them as an aid to imagining our fears and worries “flying out the window like a bird" and leaving us at peace. As such they are an aid to personal meditation that has long been used to lower our stress levels. Our little birds are coated with a preserving finish of oil and wax that makes them safe should a child accidentally find them and suck on them.
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Farewell Reflections
“Our ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death but a good life to the very end.”
― Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
The OutCare Foundation has faithfully supported Home Hospice North Lanark (HHNL) home visiting program by their generous grants over the past several years. As I leave my role as Coordinator of Visiting Volunteers at HHNL on August 25, 2021, I reflect on the generosity of the OutCare Foundation over the years. This generosity has allowed us to integrate the expressive arts into our home visiting program and to help give voice to grief and reclaim joy as we share end of life journeys.
The typology of disease at the end of life includes frailty and dementia, cancer, organ failure to name a few. Each disease has its own thieves that gradually try to steal the things that make us whole: chronic obstructive lung disease steals our breath; esophageal cancer steals our voice and dementia steals our memory to name a few. What all these diseases have in common is that they create a grief for the person and family and can steal the joy of simple pleasure in life and darken the remaining days. In my work with people dying at home I have spent the past seven years thinking beyond the physical needs and getting to know the spirit of each person. It is in the spirit that the beauty of life remains in the end-of-life journey.
What stands out to me is how through creative expression the lost joy can be found. Each intervention is unique and based on and individual’s life story. A few interventions of creative expression have included: a last dance (with a music therapist at the piano, allowing a final waltz); a last letter (with the assistance of a visiting volunteer allowed a chance to say goodbye); a last kitchen party with friends; art journaling gives voice to grief when words aren’t enough, and a hand stitched quilt from the Crazy Quilters brings comfort. The life that these activities breathes into people’s final days is nothing short of remarkable!
Thank you to The OutCare Foundation for its generosity over many years and to our team of Visiting Volunteers — together we have made a difference!
Allison Griffith RN. BScN Coordinator of Visiting Volunteers
We wish Allison all the best in her future pursuits.
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Thank you Helene!
The Board of Home Hospice North Lanark have been so fortunate to have had Helene Gilhooly as our Board Secretary and Board Member for the past 4 years.
Helene has brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Board and she has been of tremendous help in helping us to set up our Sharepointe system where we store files and documents. She has guided us through some difficult decisions and always been available to share her point of view or past experiences with similar situations.
Helene has decided to step down from the Board and we will miss her smile and humour, her compassion, her expertise and knowledge. Thank you Helene for everything that you have done for HHNL in the past few years and we hope that maybe some time in the future we might have you join the Board again.
Stay safe and be well,
— Jan
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RECOMMENDED READING
This book is available for loan at the Mississippi Mills Public Library
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