Hospice Helps “Miss Helen” Enjoy LIVING!

When you spend time in the presence of “Miss Helen”, you are very aware that she is full of life! Her laughter and joy and will quickly lead anyone around her down that same path. You would never know that Helen deals with a terminal illness and her days are limited. While Helen’s days may be limited…her life is not! She is making the most of every minute and Hospice of Marion County helps her do it.

“I am so grateful to have such a caring organization at my disposal,” shares Helen. “I don’t know what I would have done without them. It is very comforting knowing they are there to talk to. The support and encouragement is wonderful.” Helen was diagnosed with Abdominal Cancer. Her reaction to the prognosis was much different than some. “The first thing that came to mind was that I was going to go bald,” laughs Helen. “Then my doctor explained different treatment options and what my choices were. I just didn’t want to go through all that and be sick from treatments just to get MAYBE a couple more years. When I told him that, he immediately referred me to Hospice and I am so thankful to him. I had no idea they would be able to do so much for me.”

Miss Helen’s physician, expressed his appreciation for how she handled her situation. “As a physician, I have respect for what a person’s wishes are. We discuss all the options and pros and cons. With any diagnosis, there are many routes you can take. It makes it so much easier when we know what the patient really wants and what their wishes are. People can learn from Miss Helen courage to express exactly what she wants.”

With her symptoms and pain under control by Hospice of Marion County, Helen embarked on a beautiful voyage. “My daughters and I take a cruise every year and this last one was certainly one I would not miss. It was a wonderful trip that we all will treasure.”

Helen also has a group of friends that have met weekly to play Mah Jongg for years. “I play every Friday and I don’t plan to miss that either,” stated Helen. She did begin to have symptoms that were interfering with her game. “When we play, we are concentrating and pretty intense for several hours. I was having a shooting pain in the back of my neck. It was awful. But Paige (HMC Massage Therapist) located it, began working on it and it’s gone. I am so grateful.”

Helen is one of many Hospice patients who benefit from massage therapy. Hospice of Marion County has two full time licensed Massage Therapists to serve our patients. “When we started massage therapy more than six years ago it was unheard of to hire a full time massage therapist,” stated CEO Alice J. Privett. “It’s an expense of patient care that is not reimbursed by Medicare so we basically have had to absorb those costs. But we felt it was so important to our patients we had to figure out a way to do it."

The bonds established between Hospice caregivers and the patients are very strong. “I love these people,” said Helen. “My nurse Gina is so precious. She checks on me every week to be sure that I’m doing what I need to. Jack (Hospice Chaplain) visits me and I really enjoy talking to him. And of course, Paige (Massage Therapist) is the highlight of my week. I just feel so relaxed when she is through. It really is wonderful.”

Helen is seizing each moment of each day of her life. Hospice of Marion County is honored to help her do it.