Transition

Dear Smt. Jayasala:

Thank you for sharing your experience of being on the bedside of your mother. Every such experience creates indelible impression in our thoughts about death which in my view is part of living. We learn so much from death as we do from life.

 

Thank you Thyagarajan Sir for your kind words.

 

I struggled a lot to make a decision whether to choose to sacrifice an excellent spiritual event for Navaratri on Saturday evening or go to the routine Hospice service. Navarathri comes only once a year. I was all by myself last week and I don't like patients to suffer due to lack of volunteers. When I wrote to the Coordinator, she replied that I didn't take a day's break since I returned from India and she suggested that I should attend the spiritual event. She promised that she would ensure other volunteers are available on Saturday.

Mind is a monkey and if I go to the Hospice service, it will think of a wonderful Valmiki Ramayan recitation and interpretation and bhajans and if I go to the spiritual event, it would think of the patients in the Hospice. Now that I have interacted with the coordinator, it makes me feel better. She also promised that if she doesn't have volunteers to replace me, she would let me know. Peace.

 

@Rihana

I am doing great. How about you? I am glad you got caught up with this thread. You always give interesting feed backs and questions that are relevant to this thread.

Unfortunately, I did sleep into duty time. Now, let me go to the traditional discussion of English people how they differentiated childlike to childish. When childish means silly and immature, childlike means being simple and innocent. May be you wanted to give the benefit of doubt to me having admitted it in an open forum about me sleeping through the Hospice time.

It is so hard to explain the emotional and psychological satisfaction one derives from this type of volunteering. It is just not Altruism or Humanism but something that benefits the volunteers developing their own sense of fulfillment. In simple terms, if I consider death as the forced termination of my life, at least, viewing many deaths frequently, gives me how to handle it effectively. Death is one thing most are afraid of. There are inherent benefits to the volunteers.

 

Saturday, October 5th, 2019

I went to attend a Satsang about 50 miles away from the town and hence took time-off from the Hospice volunteering.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

I was sick since Thursday and hence decided to take time-off from the Hospice. The Volunteer Coordinator has clearly given instruction not to show up at the duty desk with sickness.

 

Saturday, Oct 19, 2019

I was sick and didn't go to the Hospice as I know after full recovery only, I can volunteer.

Saturday, Oct 26, 2019

I was fully fit and decided to volunteer in the Hospice today.

Senses Data: 19 Patients - 7 eternal departures - 10 new admissions - 5 over 5 days of stay in the Hospice - 2 patients with ESBL infection and 1 patient with MRSA virus - 9 patients were suffering from some form of cancer while others are suffering from dementia or respiratory issues or heart ailment.

The volunteers who were volunteering in the earlier shift were very happy to see me back at work. As no one else was with me, I ended up hosting the reception desk guiding visitors into the Hospice care center. One women over 80 years old requested me to tell the staff in the night shift that she was leaving her car overnight as it won't start. She was planning to tow it the next day. I promptly informed the staff in the night shift so that her car is not towed away. I also offered to drop her home but she politely declined as someone else was coming to pick her up. There was another visitor who was happy to receiver her Chinese food order from me.

Earlier, there were some questions about how the kith and kin are supported post death of their near ones. I picked up the brochure about the Hospice Grief Support Groups, individual one on one counselling sessions, surviving special days and holidays workshop focused on how to handle Christmas season without the near ones. The grief support group is separately available for spousal loss - retired years, spousal loss - working years, spousal loss - any age, general grief and loss, adult loss of a parent, etc. Licensed Clinical Social Worker ("LCSW") and Licensed Mental Health Counsellor ("LMHW") handle such special workshop and one on one counseling. Kindly look up the qualifications needed for those social workers and mental health professionals to get the licenses in Florida.

 

Saturday, November 3, 2019

I was surprised to see 4 volunteers reporting at 5 p.m. on Saturday as I have never seen it before. I am also inquiring internally why most Hospice volunteers are women than men. It raised a question whether women or more compassionate than men? This subject discussion including summary of some research I had a chance to read, I have decided to post separately in Education and Personal Growth.

Senses Data: 17 admissions - 9 deaths - 4 new admissions during our work hours - 2 MRSA & ESBL infected patients with a note about contact restrictions.

1 new volunteer who joined our group was from Atlanta and has been living with her son and DIL for the past 2 years. She wanted a life of her own and hence decided to volunteer in the Hospice. She had volunteered in the Hospice for many years in Atlanta and also worked to improve the lives of the children in the inner cities. She was curious to learn as much as possible on the very first day.

All the patients were well supported by the friends and families with no patient sitting duty for any one of us. Only one visitors was hungry and ordered food at 7:30 p.m. and since the food didn't arrive until 8 p.m. at which time the doors get locked in, one of the volunteers decided to stay a little longer to get food for her.

 

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Akhanda Bhajan took priority over the Hospice service this week. Because there were three volunteers available, the coordinator agreed readily for my absence.

 

I will not be posting anything in this thread further as I came to know from one of the ILites that writing about the Hospice service is like taking a selfie with a dead body/verbal selfie.

I thought it was not about me but all about the patients in palliative care who deserves better. However, I should not give any iota of doubt to anyone about my intention and hence I am stopping further posts in this thread. Please forgive me if you are a regular reader of this thread.