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OC Register Column on a Vigil Volunteer

January 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

Bev Stevens, Hospice Care of the West volunteer, gently puts a cold compress on Iola Van Ornum, 94, at Fountain Care Center in Orange. Stevens also read poetry and gave a hand massage. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Denise Carson writes in her column Parting Ways for the Orange County Register about a Hospice Care of the West volunteer viagra price keeping vigil in the final hours of life.

A vigil to mark the last night of Iola Van Ornum’s life began when Bev Stevens entered her room at Fountain Care Center shortly after sundown.

“I’m Bev, the vigil volunteer,” said Bev, 57, a member of a corps of volunteers who keep watch and accompany those in their final hours of life.

“Well, you must be a very special person,” said Iola’s daughter, Sara Gustavson, 66, of Tustin. [Read more...]

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Dream Catchers

January 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you knew your time was short, and someone offered you a last wish, what would you ask for? Caitlin Crommett, the 17 year-old Founder of Dream Catchers, started an organization two years ago to make last wishes and dreams come true for hospice patients at Hospice Care of the West.

She was inspired by the movie “Patch Adams” about a doctor who “cared about making his patients happy rather than just treating their disease.” The spark for Dream Catchers came while watching a scene in the film when Patch Adams talks to a woman, nearing the end of life, about why she no longer wanted to eat. He discovers she’d always wanted to plunge into a pool of pasta. He grants her wish. [Read more...]

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End of Life Planning

January 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

End of life in many ways is a journey that you must plan for like any other trip into unknown territory. It’s important to make plans for how you want to spend the time you have left to live. For some people the journey will be months, others weeks, or it maybe even as short as days. Either way, a good plan makes for a better trip that allows you and your family to invite in the kind of memorable moments that happen on a trip into the unknown when you’re not scrambling around lost in fear that stirs chaos and ultimately leads to regret for you and your family members. A good end life plan lights the way in what could be an otherwise dark stage of life. [Read more...]

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