Often, that’s exactly what a patient needs — someone to simply be there, to chat with, do puzzles, read a newspaper, share a story or laugh.
Just as often, Holden’s work extends beyond the patient.
“Sometimes you just relieve the caregiver,” she says. One of Holden’s previous patients had a daughter who was free to do the family shopping when Holden arrived every Friday.
There’s no sugar-coating the fact that the patients she visits are suffering from terminal disease. Holden manages to keep her emotions in check.
“People say how can you do that? It’s not uncomfortable. It’s not sad,” Holden said. “The person who is ill usually looks forward to having you there.”
In August 2010, Holden got to see hospice care in action from another point of view. Herb, her husband of 65 years, was dying. For the first time, she was on the receiving end of patient care.
“I had Hospice. It was my first experience seeing that end of Hospice, and they were fabulous. Jane Foster was my RN and she’s a dream girl. She’s an angel,” Holden said. “With all the patients I had, I’d never had one that died while I was there, except my husband. He just sat up and died. That’s the only experience I’ve had.”
Holden will be 89 years old on May 5. For her 80th birthday, one of her daughters called and asked if she’d received the gift they’d sent. Holden replied that she hadn’t, and her daughter suggested she look by the garage, as the mail carrier might have left it there. When Holden went outside to check, her three daughters, Sandy, Chris and Marcia and son, Kent, were standing there, having flown in from their respective homes in various states across the country.
“I thought that was so special,” she says, “That was very special, very special.”
Holden may downplay her role as a patient care volunteer and the time she puts in sorting merchandise at the Hospice Thrift Barn, but Hospice officials said one could describe the gift she gives as “special.”
A new volunteer training session begins on March 6. For more information, call Jean Pearson at 828-894-2881, or Jennifer Thompson at 864-457-9125.
– article submitted by Darlene Cah for HoCF