I started a new endeavor today: hospice volunteer.
Eventually, I'll be visiting patients enrolled in hospice (meaning physicians have determined they might have less than 6 months left to live), keeping them company or helping with small tasks like looking through photos or writing letters.
A friend suggested that I might enjoy and be good at it. And so I looked into it and went to my first training this morning. Today was mostly HIPAA (which reminds me not to betray any PHI, or personal health information!) and OSHA awareness training, but I liked the people and the environment. And I'm really looking forward to learning more so I can help out.
You might recall, I've explored issues of death and dying here (and here and here) several times, as well as my pastoral care training, non-violent communication workshops, prayer shawl ministry work, meditation (and here and here) and mindfulness (esp. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction--and here-- and other practices for health), course on prayer (and here), and my recent interest in reading about death, religion (and here and here) and spirituality (and here and here), and the like (and one time that I didn't post on, a sermon on sacred dying and ancient Greek concepts). I think it's all coming together with hospice. And they even want crocheted lapghans for the patients!
Something else we have in common. I did some hospice work years ago. We'll have to talk soon.
ReplyDeleteI worked with PWA's way back in the mid '80's. The work was fraught with peril back then, because there was so much fear around the epidemic.
ReplyDeleteI had two kids at the time and needed something meaningful to do outside of the home. I learned more about compassion and grace than I can put into words. I lost so many clients, and many of them very quickly because there was not much to be done about treatment back then. Yet I still have friends (fellow volunteers) I made during that time because the work we did together was so intense and meaningful.
In an odd way, hospice work is a gift to both the recipient and the giver, to be sure.
Namaste, Jamie.
xo