Quincy

Quincy at Camp Brave Heart

Hospice Austin has lost a very good friend.

Quincy, the beloved therapy dog who visited Hospice Austin’s Christopher House every Friday, passed away after an illness. A memorial service to celebrate his life and his service to our patients, family and staff, was held this morning in the garden at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House.

Quincy’s owner, RoseAnn Skrovan, adopted Quincy and his twin sister at the same time. It didn’t take her long, however, to recognize his special gift. She had him trained through Therapy Pet Pals of Texas.

Quincy volunteered very week at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House for four years. RoseAnn said he thought he owned the place. He would even get a little jealous if there was another dog on the premises.

If Quincy loved Hospice Austin’s Christopher House, the feeling was mutual. He helped the staff and volunteers as well as patients and families. RN Leona Brauer said that sometimes, when she was sad about a patient dying, Quincy would give her the energy to keep going. In fact, he was so popular with the staff that RoseAnn had to make a rule that no one could give him a treat until after he finished his rounds.

Once, there was a five-year-old crying in the parking lot, refusing to come in and see her grandfather, with whom she was very close. Quincy made friends with her; she clung to his back as they came inside. When they reached her grandfather’s room, she sat on the floor, still crying, and wouldn’t approach the bed. Quincy laid down behind her and encircled her with his paws. She leaned against him for 20 minutes. When he eventually stood up and walked to the bed, she came with him. Then she climbed up onto the bed and kissed her grandpa.

“Quincy opened the door when none of the rest of us could,” said social worker Dede Sparks. “He knew when that little girl was ready.”

He opened the door for a lot of people. He would sometimes go to bereavement counseling sessions; he even went to Camp Brave Heart. With his gentle spirit, Quincy wasn’t just a welcome distraction; he was an outlet for pain and fear and grief.

One time Quincy entered a room where a patient had just died. The patient’s son hugged him for a long time and cried into his fur. He finally raised his head and said, “You’re making it easier for me to breathe right now.”

Thank you, RoseAnn, for sharing Quincy with us. And thank you, Quincy, for making it easier for everyone to breathe.

 

 

Melinda Marble
Communications Coordinator

Hospitality Austin

The living journey with Hospice Austin…I visited my mom Debbie today, who is in her fourth month of hospice care; she is 77 years old. I picked up lunch for both of us to have a mini picnic outside her nursing facility before it gets too hot. I arrived a bit early and discovered she was with her Hospice Austin certified nurse aide getting a shower. While I’m preparing for the picnic outside, out comes Debbie with her loving caregiver who she sees every time…not someone new all the time. She brings mom to me and gently touches her arm and wishes her a wonderful day. “I’ll see you tomorrow” she says…my mom just grins and tells me how kind her “Hospitality Austin” lady is to her.

We have lunch; I talk, she eats… she’s on a new medication that reduces the swelling of the tumor in her brain, and she is much more lucid with this medication. She is closing one eye, and when she’s looking the other direction she switches and closes her other eye. It’s a game she doesn’t know she’s playing. She says everything is clearer that way…one might say it’s a balancing act and we both laugh about how she doesn’t even know she’s doing it.

Yesterday I received an update via email from her nurse telling me how gracious my mom is, how she never complains, she’s not in pain, etc. she is just happy to be visited and taken care of by nice people…the nurse said she is honored to care for her. On Monday I received a text from her volunteer. My mom calls him “Silver,” and he visits her at least three times a week…he wants her to adopt him because she is so nice. For me and my family, getting to see my mom more often and being present in her journey has been one of the most rewarding lessons of life…but her story is about the quality of life at the end of her journey. My mom has outlived her prognosis by several weeks now. Every cold or slight infection is a threat and we know that because her caregivers are so frequent and loving, she is less at risk. 

I’ve been a volunteer for Hospice Austin’s Beauty of Life brunch for several years. This year, my volunteerism begins at home with my mom. Our table at Beauty of Life this year is named “Hospitality Austin Ladies” because that is what my mom calls her Hospice Austin caregivers. Hospitality, love and peace is exactly what they give back to our family. I just don’t know where we would be without this caring and wonderful organization to love her and give us peace of mind.

Thank you, Hospice Austin, for your tremendous “Hospitality.” 

Nina Seely
Hospice Austin Beauty of Life Volunteer

Brave Kids, Brave Hearts

I would love to tell you about how Camp Brave Heart has helped me. My dad passed away in a car accident that I was in when I was 6. I did no counseling, therapy, etc. until I was 11 and it started to show. I went to Camp Brave Heart honestly thinking it wouldn’t help. Then I got to camp. It was ok to cry, ask questions, tell people how you really felt. We did things that helped me break down what I was feeling. And there was nothing awkward when you said “My _____ passed.” because we all understood the feeling well enough in order to not make someone else feel it. At Camp Brave Heart I also made life time bonds with 4 friends that also lost their dads. We meet up on holidays, birthdays, any day we can really, and my little brother does the same with his friends he made at camp. Thank you for letting me tell you how Camp Brave Heart has helped me even now when I’m 14.

This letter was written by Madison, who attended Camp Brave Heart several years ago. She helped at registration Monday morning in Austin as a new crop of campers prepared to head off to Camp Brave Heart.  After registration, three chartered buses ferried the campers to Fort John Knox Ranch in Wimberley, where the campers stayed until Wednesday.

Registration is sometimes tough, especially for the younger campers who either have never been away from home before or who have suffered enough loss that any separation causes anxiety. It’s brave of the kids to go. It’s brave of their caregivers to let them go.

While most of the kids were looking forward to the days ahead, some of them were crying and clinging to their caregivers. Madison and her stepsister, Lyric, made it their business to put those kids at ease. They asked them to play cards. They talked to them about video games. They helped them make new friends. And always, Madison was able to share her experience.

There was one little boy named Lucky who was having a hard time. He told Madison that his father died. Madison said that her father died, too, when she was six. Lucky said, “Really? I thought I was the only kid who lost a dad when they were six!!”

Madison introduced Lucky to a little ball of energy named Mia. Mia asked him, “Do you want to be my buddy?” As the kids were walking out to the bus, Mia tugged on Madison’s hand and asked if they could wait for her buddy. When Lucky caught up, Mia said to him, “You’re my best friend at camp. Will you sit with me on the bus?”

“I was scared when I went to camp,” Madison recalled. “I didn’t know what to expect.  But I still use the skills I learned at camp and I made friends who know what I’m going through. Our families get together on birthdays and every Thanksgiving and Christmas. They’re our families by choice.”

It didn’t take the kids long this year to forget their fears. As soon as the campers arrived at the camp near Wimberley, they split up into four age groups – 6-8, 9-10, 11-12, and 13-17 – and started to get to know one another.  These are the groups that they bunked with, ate with, played with and shared with. They spent the 2 ½ days at camp hiking, swimming and canoeing, of course, but also making memory boxes, designing a group quilt illustrating ways they cope, painting masks to show how they feel inside, and a host of other activities. They ended the camp with a memorial service honoring the loved ones they lost and received medals for their bravery.

They boarded the buses to return to Austin with new skills to cope with their loss. Best of all, they made new friends with others who understand exactly how they feel.

And who knows, some of those friends just might become their families by choice.

 

Hospice Austin is able to offer Camp Brave Heart free of charge to campers and their families thanks to the generous efforts of Big Hearts for Brave Hearts, Travis County Medical Alliance, and Chaparral Women’s Club.

Melinda Marble
Communications Coordinator

 

Celebrating Leslie

Sunday was the first annual Leslie Fest – a party celebrating the life and 61^st birthday of Leslie Cochran, Austin’s beloved cross-dressing, homeless mayoral candidate. Leslie died on March 8 at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House.

Though certainly the most famous, Leslie is not the first homeless patient we’ve cared for. In fact, there’s been many.  Our nurses, social workers, chaplains and CNAs have visited patients under bridges and at their camps. Sometimes patients agree to go to a nursing home or to Mary House, a wonderful home for chronically or terminally ill homeless. Sometimes they want to stay just where they are. Sometimes, like Leslie, they agree to go to Hospice Austin’s Christopher House.

We had a homeless patient once who traveled everywhere with his German Shepherd. When he checked into Hospice Austin’s Christopher House, the patient was almost frantic with worry about his dog, who was elderly and ill. The patient was afraid they’d be separated from each other. He was afraid his dog would die alone and scared. 

 That didn’t happen. They remained together, in the same room and in the same bed, until his pet was too ill to go on. At the patient’s request, a vet came out and put his pet to sleep. The dog died with his owner petting him and whispering words of love. The patient died peacefully the next day.

 Leslie, too, had a peaceful end, surrounded by close friends and family. His sister, Alice, flew in from out of state and stayed with him 24 hours a day. His friends brought in a giant card, signed by friends he knew and friends he’d never met, and hung it on the wall. Leslie died in a safe place, surrounded by love.

 At his sister’s request, the proceeds from Leslie Fest will go to benefit Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. She thought he would have wanted it that way.

Melinda Marble
Hospice Austin Communications Coordinator

Rebuilding lives, thanks to you

Brandi and her family in their new home

Patients and their loved ones often comment that Hospice Austin becomes part of their family. We feel the same way about the families we care for. That’s why it was an honor for us to nominate Bill Snyder and his family for the Austin American-Statesman’s Season for Caring campaign, which ran over the holiday season. Bill and his wife, Pat, lost their home in the Bastrop fire; their granddaughter Brandi and her children, who lived next door, lost their home as well. Three weeks after the fire Pat, our patient, died.

The Statesman profiled their story and donations came pouring in. Many of you, our extended Hospice Austin family, donated furniture, appliances, money, and time. One of you even donated a season pass to Sea World. Enough money was raised to buy a headstone for Pat and to help Bill rebuild his house. Recently, a large mobile home was donated for Brandi and her children (you can read more about that here). The community as a whole came together to help this family and because of all of your efforts, their lives have changed.

They now have the room and space to heal. Brandi is going to school to become a certified nurses’ assistant, one step closer to the promise she made her grandmother to become a nurse. Her children are attending Camp Brave Heart this summer. Bill is grateful to have his family back on the land and looking forward to rebuilding the garden that Pat loved.

This community, this family, has put its collective arms around the Snyder family and created a new beginning from a devastating loss. Thank you.

Marjorie Mulanax
Hospice Austin Executive Director

Giving Hands and Heart to Our Mission

There is an old African proverb that says when you pray, move your feet meaning when there is something you hope for, something you believe in, don’t just stand there– make it happen.  Your generosity gives feet and hands and heart to the mission of Hospice Austin, making it possible for amazing things to happen. 

I want to share a story to illustrate the difference your support makes. Not long ago, we received a volunteer request for a 19-year-old patient with cancer. This young man along with his parents and two brothers were recent immigrants fromBangladesh.  The brothers spoke some English, but the patient and his parents spoke little.  The family did not own a car and the patient needed a ride to and from Brackenridge at 7:30 am twice a week for six weeks to receive palliative radiation. It seemed like a challenging request. In looking through our volunteer database we saw that Irene, one of our most faithful volunteers, lived less than a mile from this young man.

A woman in her mid-80s, Irene is slightly hard of hearing, has a rather stern demeanor, and is deeply religious and outspoken about her views. She also has a heart of solid gold.  When we asked if she might be able to provide transportation for this young man, she didn’t hesitate.  Twice a week for six weeks this older Christian woman drove this young Muslim man to and from his radiation appointments.  And in those six weeks, despite language and cultural differences, a deep friendship took root.

After Irene found out that this patient’s 14-year-old brother had injured his leg playing football, she insisted on taking him to his doctor appointments.  When the doctor advised exercise for his leg, she brought him to Planet Fitness twice a week, on the premise of needing exercise herself and wanting company.  While he pumped iron, she would walk on the treadmill or sit and read a magazine. After he recovered, she went to his football games.  At Thanksgiving she invited the entire family over for a traditional turkey and dressing dinner and at Christmas she brought them special treats. In return, the patient’s family asked her to join them for a traditional Bangladeshi meal. She obliged, although she told me she’s still not sure what all she ate!

When the patient was near the end of his life, he was moved to Hospice Austin’s Christopher House to manage his pain. Knowing the family was keeping around-the-clock vigil, Irene brought them several large pepperoni pizzas, not realizing that Muslims don’t eat pork. They were such fast friends by this point, however, that they took no offense and simply peeled the pepperoni off, setting them to the side.

This volunteer was there for this family through thick and thin, impacting this family’s life and they hers.  And I like to think that together they have made a positive, peaceful difference in our sometimes fractious world.

Your support and generosity make this kind of unconditional kindness, hospitality, and friendship possible. On behalf of all our patients and families, our staff, and our larger community, I want to offer a heartfelt thanks for making stories like this and so many, many others an every-day occurrence. 

 

Nancy McCranie
Hospice Austin’s Director of Volunteer and Bereavement Services

 

Welcome to Hospice Austin’s Blog!

We at Hospice Austin have decided to start a blog. We want to share inspiring stories, we want to answer your questions about end-of-life issues, we want to support you if you’re a caregiver, and we want to cushion your journey if you’ve already lost someone you love. In other words, we’d like to help however we can.

The blog will be written primarily by people who work here, from nurses to social workers to bereavement coordinators to volunteers — we may even have one of our doctors or patients chime in. Many of the posts will be written by me. I’m the communications coordinator for Hospice Austin. I have the honor of talking to patients, family members, staff and volunteers and see first-hand, every day, what amazing work they do. I’m also familiar with hospice care on a personal level. My father died after spending months in a hospital; six years later, my mother died at home on hospice care. I know what a positive difference hospice care made for our family.

However, this blog is not about any one of us — it’s about you. I guess the biggest question is, what would you like to see? We hope you will feel free to comment on posts, ask questions and make suggestions. Thanks for reading it, and thanks for you support.

Melinda Marble
Hospice Austin Communications Coordinator