Edvin Tejeda, home health aide, at Hospice Care of the West.

When he was just a boy, Edvin Tejeda, a home health aide at Hospice Care of the West, felt a higher calling to care for the whole person both body and spirit. He brings a presence of peace, calm and healing to the bedside of his patients.

He grew up in Quiragua, Guatemala, home to the ancient Mayan culture.  As a little boy, Edwin played in the shadow of these monuments that echoed the ideas, values and achievements of a past civilization. The tangible, yet invisible presence of these ancestors shaped his appreciation for history and wisdom handed down from one generation to the next.

In this lush tropical environment on the Motagua River, he swam and fished. Edwin was the youngest of the four children in his family. His grandparents raised him. Edvin’s father left before he had a chance to get to know him.  Though Edvin never met his own father, he felt an intrinsic connection to God, his father in heaven. At eight years old, his grandparents sent him to church where he discovered through the Bible and the teachings that God was never far away from him. His acceptance of Jesus into his life marked the most memorable of his childhood memories and thus became the inspiration for the man he would become.

At age 13 years old while fishing on the river, he injured his foot. His grandparents rushed him to the medical center in town. As he entered the hospital, Edwin felt instantly awed by the nurses and doctors caring for him and others around him. Edwin knew then, he would one day become a nurse. Not long after, he recalls fishing on the river when he saw a boy fall off a passing boat. He jumped in the river and saved the boy’s life. This would be the first of many.

When I asked Eddvin what his grandfather taught him, he chuckled and said very confidently, “Everything.” He recalls, many days of his youth fishing on the river with his grandfather and helping his grandmother raise chickens in the yard of their home, each activity a source of food for the family.  His grandmother guided him to respect all people, most especially the elderly. She encouraged him to study so that he would not have a life of hard labor.

He studied hard in school and did not succumb to any peer pressure of activities, smoking and drinking that could steer him from his dream of becoming a nurse. If you asked his grandmother back then how she would describe her grandson. She would say, “Edvin is a good boy.”

At 18 years old, Edvin became a nurse. He worked on the pediatric unit in the local hospital.

“It’s very exciting to care for babies just one to two hours after they are born,” he recalled. “It’s the beginning of life.”

One afternoon on the pediatric unit, all of Edwin’s fellow nurses on the floor had gone to lunch. He was the only one on the unit when he heard a father yell, “My son, my son!” Edwin ran over. The eight-month old baby stopped breathing. Edwin immediately administered CPR. He revived the baby. The life that swept out of the baby came back. The father filled with fear was overcome with relief and gratitude. Early in his nursing career, Edwin had become a guardian angel for his patients and their families. It takes a special kind of person to jump into action in a risky situation when everyone around you is in a panic.

Even with all the new beginnings in the hospital, he also encountered many lives coming to an end.  Edvin dealt with a lot of patients suffering from fatal diseases, accidents, and there were times when he would be there at the end with his patients and their families.

“Everyday, before I go to work, I asked God, “If there is somebody who wants to know God, let me feel it,” Edvin said. “I would sense when someone would talk about life and life after death. And I would say, don’t be afraid, Jesus died for you. And then, I would pray and sometimes, they would accept Jesus. And they would have peace at the end.”

While working in the hospital in Guatemala, he met his wife, Linda. She is a nurse too. They both wanted a better life. The city was not so safe back then. The streets were ravaged with crime.

In 2004, he made the leap. Edvin moved out to California where his mother lived. Not long after, Linda joined him. They married.  Soon, Edvin became a father to his baby boy, David.

We have Ana to thank for inspiring Edvin to join us here at Hospice Care of the West three years ago. She told him about hospice. After being raised by his grandparents and spending time as a nurse caring for patients and their families in Guatamla, he felt all the paths and experiences of his life melded together to serve hospice patients.

Edvin is often celebrated here at Celebration. I can recall, Shannon sharing the stories of how he always attends the Veteran pinning ceremonies that honor our veterans for their service in the U.S. Military. Edvin baths his patients and dresses them with honor so they are suited in dignity when pinned and saluted by the Color Guard.

Everyday, he prays for his patients before going to work. And at times, he shares Jesus with them to help easy their soul on the end of life journey.

Some of the folks on the hospice team shared these loving thoughts,

Caroline Chiou, RN, said, “Edvin has such a kind and loving heart. He goes above and beyond for all our patients to ensure they are comfortable. Thank you for your phenomenal care!”

And Jennifer Villegas, said, “He is always kind, responsible, and respectful. I truly appreciate working with Edvin.”

Today, his grandparents would be proud. The wisdom they passed on to him permeates his service to his patients and also to his hospice team.

In hospice, Edvin loves talking with his patients about life. He has learned a lot about many different cultures with different names for God.

When I asked him what wisdom would he like to pass on to his son David., I felt Edvin’s heart open. His voice quickened as if moved by the spirit and eager to pass on his wisdom.

“I never know what day will be my last and everyday when I leave my home, I pray that I return home,” Edvin said. “I want my son to know, I am your friend, I am your father, but the most important relationship you have is with God. And you must respect all people, especially older people. I’ve learned that though they follow a different God, we are the same. And we must respect all people and all cultures.

Take care of your body and your health. And study in school so you won’t have to do hard labor.”

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Being a Compassionate Companion Resources

We started a series on “Being A Compassionate Companion at the End of Life” at Hospice Care of the West. I gave many classes out in the local community and faith-based communities. They were well received and many folks reached out later asking for resources and information shared within my presentations that they could share with their family and friends. As the season of fall is upon us, the sun filled days are giving way to longer dark nights. It is not an easy time for people facing the end of life both for patients and families. My hope in sharing this series that some folks will receive insight to spark meaningful conversations as they gather with family. If you have any questions or if you would like me to share this presentation with your community, leave me a note in the comments section. You can download the presentation here.

HCOTW Facing The End Of Life W Someone You Love FINAL 2

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Eileen McDargh and Susan Mullins, daughters of hospice patient Mary Burchard, shared their experiences with Hospice Care of the West on the Channel 6 morning news. This interview is both touching and resourceful for children caring for aging parents. Eileen and Susan delve into how they made the choice for hospice. More specifically, they discuss how Hospice Care of the West had the best philosophy of care that aligned with their wishes to give their mother the most joy and comfort that she could experience on her final journey.

They also talk about how Hospice Care of the West celebrated their mother’s life through recording her life review video interview. Their mother, Mary, reflected on her life as a doctor, a mother and a

pilot in World War II. In the life review, they sang songs with their mother, a favorite family pastime when growing up. This interview is such a resource for any family thinking about hospice for their family member. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iXB1kG2OsE

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Hospice Care of the West Commercial from point of view of the doctor to raise awareness that patients have a choices in hospice and end-of-life care.

Check out our new commercial! Dr. Kasra Morsh and Dr. Kang Hsu joined us at Hospice Care of the West to film our fourth commercial.  Both doctors gave us such insight on why they choose Hospice Care of the West for their patients. Often folks hear about hospice when it’s too late and so we created these commercials to educate the community and raise awareness. Patients and families have choices even in their most vulnerable hour. Dr. Morsh talked of how the whole team—nurse, social worker, spiritual care coordinator and home health aid have a lot of heart, compassionate and drive to go beyond their call to make patients comfortable and provide a safety net of support for the family. Dr. Hsu agreed that the hospice team takes care of the patient and the family.

Dr. Hsu enlightened us on recent studies that report how patients often live longer than the expected prognosis of six months or less if they transition into hospice earlier in their journey because their pain is under control. With hospice, patients have a better quality of life surrounded by a team dedicated to their physical, emotional, familial and financial needs in their home, or the place they call home. The doctors shared how they approach end-of-life conversations with their patients, more importantly we learned that they’ve never had a patient unhappy after transitioning their care to hospice. Choosing the right hospice is so important when it comes to creating a comfortable, pain-free environment filled with dignity for the patient and the family.

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Debbie Robson, Executive Director of Hospice Care of the West, elected to California Hospice and Palliative Care Association Board of Directors Region 6.

Debbie Robson, the renowned innovative Executive Director of Hospice Care of the West, is elected to the Board of Directors of California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA). She will represent Region 6 that encompasses hospice organizations in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The mission of CHAPCA is to promote and strengthen the delivery of hospice care for patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families through education and advocacy.

“I’m honored by the opportunity to be a unifying voice for the hospices in our region,” said Robson. “I look forward to continuing the mission of CHAPCA to educate the community about the benefits of hospice and innovating hospice care from the front lines. I hope to continue to change the public conversation about hospice from dying to celebrating life.”

Robson has more than 20 years experience in end-of-life care that began as a hospice and home health nurse. Under Robson’s leadership, Hospice Care of the West received the Outstanding Program Achievement Award given by the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association to an innovative hospice program that can an example for the hospice community in 2012. Robson was also honored with SeniorServ’s “Executive Director of the Year” receiving the Senior Care Hero Award in 2012.

“We’re excited to welcome Debbie to the Board of Directors,” Susan Negreen, President of CHAPCA, said. “Her experience and vision will strengthen our mission at CHAPCA. And I’d like to congratulate her on the vote of confidence from the hospice community.”

With Robson at the helm, Hospice Care of the West has risen to become a premier-award-winning hospice providing patients and their families with exceptional care and volunteer programs that give life review videos, last wish celebrations and vigil volunteers to ensure that end of life is a meaningful and memorable journey. The programs at Hospice Care of the West go above the required Medicare benefit to transform a stage of life that has been historically alienating into a time to honor a patient’s life with the family, community and future generations. In 2011, Robson collaborated with Denise Carson, author of the book Parting Ways, to launch an online resource OurLifeCelebrations.com to educate patients, families and health care providers about hospice and new ways to approach, prepare for, and celebrate life’s final journey.

Robson is spreading the mission of celebrating life with Community Reminiscing Corners that invite healthy seniors at assisted living facilities and senior centers to record their wisdom on video and learn about the value of hospice care. Internally, Robson launched Reminiscing Corners for her staff to sit down with veteran life story documentary filmmaker, Jay Gianukos, to share their wisdom and life stories. The Reminiscing Corner videos are then played at the bi-monthly Celebration!, a gathering of the entire hospice team

to celebrate each other and remember the patients who they have cared for and passed on. Celebration is a gathering for reflection and renewal to strengthen and support the hospice team in providing the best care to their patients and honoring their life’s journey. Catch a glimpse of Celebration here.

Prior to Hospice Care of the West, Robson worked as a Regional Hospice Consultant at Heartland Hospice. She also served as the Director of Hospice for St. Joseph Hospice in Orange, Calif. Robson completed her Bachelors of Science in Nursing and Masters in Business Administration in Healthcare Management.

Robson will begin her newly elected position on the Board of Directors of CHAPCA immediately and will serve for three years. She hopes to unite the hospices in a common goal to raise awareness about hospice so patients and their families can receive hospice relief sooner in their journey.

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Kathy Rojas, Patient Care Manager at Hospice Care of the West, in Orange County.

Kathy Rojas, Patient Care Manager at Hospice Care of the West, arrived at Eli’s home in Leisure World. The doctors were at a loss with Eli. They just couldn’t make him comfortable. He wouldn’t eat or drink because he no longer liked the texture in his mouth.

Kathy walked into the kitchen to find Eli, a frail man in his 70s, siting at the table. She sat down next to him.

“My mouth is so dry,” he cried repeatedly. Kathy sensed the dry mouth was connected to something more.

“Have you seen your family?” she asked.

“No, I don’t want them to see me like this. I can’t do the things I use to do,” he said.

“It would be nice to have them here, so they could be around you. And you could talk. I don’t think they’d mind if you can’t take them out to Sea World.”

Eli laughed.

“Is there something that relaxes you, like music,” she said.

He smiled.

“I’m a composer,” he said.

“Well, why don’t we listen to your music,” she said.“You can listen, and enjoy what you have accomplished.You know we have a home health aide, Marcello. He can give Robert a break. And come in, clean you up and you’ll feel like a new man.”

Robert was Eli’s caregiver and partner. Kathy turned Eli over to one of her best nurses, Jessica Bourbeau. The next day, Marcello came in and gave what Eli raved was the best bath ever. Eli began listening to his music. He called his family. And they joined him. Five days later he passed peacefully in his home.

“That’s what hospice is,” Kathy said, as her voice cracked. “When you see families come together, you know you did your job. When you can be there, when the family can’t be there, you know you did your job.”

Kathy has been a Licensed Vocational Nurse, LVN, which meant she had to practice under a Registered Nurse for 20 years. The last five years, she began to focus on becoming a RN. Kathy dreamed of becoming a nurse since she was a girl. In her Long Beach home, she would turn over her baby doll’s crib and transform it into an examining table, then dress up in her nurse’s costume and care for her dolls.

She was very close to her father. He always had high hopes that she would one day become a RN. He suffered from a massive heart attack at age 40 and was pronounced dead in the grocery store. A nurse revived him by administering CPR. From then on, he dreamed of the day his daughter would become a cardiac nurse. But after high school, she followed another dream to become a fashion merchandiser and married young. The fashion path petered out. Kathy became a mother and later followed her calling to get her LVN. She was on her way, until a divorce left her alone as a single mother of two.

Becoming a RN was no longer a top priority. She had to care for her daughters, and later a family member who was quadriplegic in her home. At the time, she worked in home health. The experience transformed her care as a home health LVN, Kathy realized that a caregiver also needs to be cared for, not just the patient. That revelation led her into hospice care focused on treating the patient and the family at the end of life. She joined a new team at Hospice Care of the West and Pam Willey, RN, became her mentor, and encouraged her to make her dream of becoming a RN a reality.

Yet, Kathy didn’t pursue that dream until a wake up call on Fourth of July, five years ago. Her father committed suicide. He was a veteran and at his funeral, his mother cried with a heart full of regret. Kathy remained

composed during the service, having to help her mother.

Shortly after his passing, she attended the death of one of her patients. Kathy broke down when the patient’s body was carried out. It’s so final. From then on, she cautions families and all of her nurses to prepare for the body of a loved one to depart from the home. She asks the family if they would like to bath and dress the body, in the case of veteran, she makes sure he is in uniform, so that he goes out with dignity, and honor.

“When a patient passes, I make sure our nurses aren’t just going there to pronounce and leave, because the family needs us,” she said. “I attended a death in Long Beach, and while I was charting, I saw a picture on the wall of their Dad in the service. So, I asked about him and the stories of their father just poured out. They were so happy and said, ‘Wow no one ever asked us that before.’ You just have to pick something small to talk about and watch the patient or family just open up.”

Kathy reflected that the Celebration at Hospice Care of the West reminds us of the power in celebrating our patients every day, even if it’s something as small as just asking about a picture hanging on the wall above the bed. That conversation becomes a celebration of his or her life.

Recently, Kathy received a tribute of her own at the Hospice Care of the West Celebration. A few months ago, she passed her State Boards. Today, Kathy is a full-fledged RN.

“My Dad never got to see me become a hospice nurse. I did it for him,” she said. “And I always tell my daughters now, to follow your dreams and never give up, no matter how long it takes, you can make your dreams come true.”

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Dave Boyle, Spiritual Care Coordinator

Each time, Dave Boyle, a hospice spiritual care coordinator, sits down at the bedside, he embarks on a journey with his patients that begins with a simple disarming question—

“So, where were you born?”

And just like that he cracks open the mental book of her life and his patient reflects on the chapters both spiritual and not so spiritual that define who she was and who she is today. You wouldn’t know it by looking at this laid back, humble guy, but Dave has taken this journey hundreds, if not more than a thousand times since he started with Hospice Care of the West in 2004.

He gently guides his patients’ life reflections full circle to the here now.

“Are you at peace?”

Surprisingly, more often than not, his patients respond “yes.” As the question is not are you ready to meet God? Or have you atoned for your sins? He is a caregiver of the soul, not a priest.

He will then ask, “Would you like me to pray for you?

Rarely, do his hospice patients ask for health prayers. Most of them would like to pray for their children or an estranged loved one.

As he wraps up his first visit, he always asks,

“Is there anybody you need to forgive?

Or, is there anybody that may need to forgive you?

That’s when the tears come, which is why he always makes sure to ask this question on the first visit, because he never knows if it will be his last. Dave recalls one such afternoon when a woman in her 90s cried and talked of her estranged daughter in Florida. Upon contacting her daughter, he learned of a mother who lived a tough life abandoning her daughter on multiple occasions to run off with multiple men. Yet, he found a way through the pain and sadness to reconnect them before she died. His faith often pads the journey into the unknown for many.

End of life can often be a dark time for families as past grievances come to the fore. Dave brings light to these dark hours sometimes through prayer and other times through scripture. Sometimes he hears from his patients and their families we haven’t been to church in years.

“Not to worry, I’m coming to you now,” he says.

He meets his patients right where they are and provides them with spiritual support they need. Sometimes, this means reconnecting the patient and family with a local mosque or temple.

Many of his patients are World War II veterans who remind him of his father. They don’t open up very easily when it comes to talking about the war and combat. Yet, he often finds a way to connect with them. He attributes his gift with people to his mother who could relate to anybody.

His nonjudgmental, disarming demeanor is born out of a darker time in his life when he battled addictions to drugs and alcohol. Though Dave was born in a small Midwest suburb called Oak Park in Illinois in 1957 and grew up as the youngest of four children playing baseball and attending church twice on Sunday, by age 16, he rebelled against the life that was cut out for him.

Still, he attended Biola University, a Christian college, in California and studied psychology. He went on to work in in-patient hospital for psychiatrically challenged youth. He realized very early on that the youth often carried the pains of their parents. Many parents unwittingly passed on their troubles and neurosis to the children. He and his team came to realize that healing the child meant giving both the child and parents new tools and systems for reacting and interacting within the family at home. As he guided the young off from the edge of despair, he still found himself in troubled circumstances.

His additions haunted every aspect of his life and

by the time he reached his 30s, he pulled away the veil of denial and admitted to himself he had a problem after his first marriage failed. He could not have a healthy relationship because his addiction robbed him of any connection. Dave entered Celebrate Recovery, a Christian program to break his addiction. In 1993, he was born again when he became a follower of Jesus. He marks his life with a clear delineation between that time and now. Today, he has lived nearly two decades, 20 years, free of his addiction.

His connection with God was a religion, his parents’ religion, growing up, but after he was born again, he has a relationship with Jesus. In the Bible, God says he works all things together for good for those who are called to his purpose. In Dave’s life that proved true, as he became an in-take representative for New Life Ministries, a Christian organization for addicts and folks in need of recovery.

“The biggest obstacle in addiction is denial,” Dave said. So, any time someone called in for help, the person always asked what New Life Ministries offered.

“All

addicts will find 100 reasons not to go into recovery,” he said. “So, I always asked them to tell me a little bit about themselves first.”

Most of the time in his conversation, the person on the other end of line, would say,

“Have you been here before,” Dave would say at times “yes” if appropriate. But ultimately, he knew all the stops other addicts would pull, and he had a solution for each one. Once they ran out of excuses, they went into recovery sometimes just meetings, other times in-patient recovery for 30 days. Often he would get calls from the wives of addicts and he would ask,

“Does your husband know your calling, is he ready for recovery?”

Some, well most, would say no. He would then say, what we need to do first is empower you as you have been broken down as result of living with an addict. You will not be able to help him with an intervention until you become strong yourself.

His most rewarding calls came when two or three years later, he would hear from his patients, “Hey Dave, just want to let you know I’m celebrating two years sober today. And I couldn’t have done it without you.”

After 10 years of shepherding addicts to recovery, Dave found an ad in his church directory for a chaplain. At the time Hospice Care of the West was a start-up company. He thought that patients in hospice would look at him and say,

“How are you going to help me now, I’m in this spot,” he said thinking back to his first days as chaplain. “But I’m humbled by the attitude of gratitude that I receive from my patients. They are grateful I’m there and reaching out even at the end of their lives. That has been transformative for me to realize no matter where you are in life you can reach out.”

Dave strikes me as one of those humble guys, like George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart on “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He has empowered and guided lost troubled souls in their youth, in midlife and now at the end of life. He is evangelist for living a good life at all stages. His mission work has gone full circle through the human lifecycles.

I think the world is truly a better place because you’re here, Dave. Thank you for sharing your story with me and everyone here. You are an inspiration.

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On local Channel 6 News, Patty Mouton, family member of a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, shares her story of choices and support received from Hospice Care of the West,

at a challenging period in her mother-in-law’s life. Initially, she was shocke

d when the doctor suggested hospice, but in hindsight she realized hospice care was the right choice for her mother-in-law at that stage of her journey. Patty is also the Vice President of Outreach and Advocacy of the Alzheimer’s Association Orange County Chapter, so this journey struck her on a personal and professional level.

“Hospice was a tremendous benefit,” she says. Patty talked about the interdisciplinary team such as the social worker who helped smooth out the rough family dynamics and the chaplain who guided her family spiritually find peace and connect with their local church. The Hospice Care of the West team even sent a hairdresser who came and cut her hair. “She looked just adorable,” Patty reflected. But more importantly, “she was comfortable,” Patty said. Hospice and the end of life is often a journey into the unknown and even more challenging when a parent has Alzheimer’s disease. Click below to listen to Patty’s interview with the Channel

6 morning news anchor.

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Nancy Johnson, Hairstylist Volunteer for Hospice Care of the West

Nancy Johnson received a call that Katherine, a 93-year-old hospice patient, needed a haircut and style. It would probably be her last. Nancy is a volunteer hairstylist for Hospice Care of the West in Orange County. She is on call to give haircuts and makeovers for any patients wishing to feel and look good.

Katherine requested Nancy come right away. Upon arriving at Katherine’s Laguna Beach home, Les, her son answered the door. Nancy entered to see a frail woman connected to an oxygen tank. Her hair was already washed and ready for a cut. So, they walked into the kitchen, and Katherine gave specific directions on how she wanted her hair cut and styled.

“I want it short in the back, longer on top,” Katherine said.

After Nancy spun her magic, she gave a mirror to Katherine.

“Outstanding,” Katherine said beaming.

Nancy turned to Les.

“When was the last time you had your hair cut?”

“This is not about me it’s about her,” Les said. But he couldn’t remember the last time as he had been so wrapped up with caring for his mother. An hour later, Les sported a new haircut too. He was filled with gratitude that Nancy had taken the time to care for both of them.

Katherine passed away the next day.

“She looked good for Jesus,” Nancy said. “I think in my heart of hearts, she knew. I hope Jesus likes my work.”

When Nancy was just 25 years old, her mother was dying from esophageal cancer.  She gave her mother a last haircut and perm at home just three days before she passed away.

“It was a bittersweet,” Nancy says recalling combing and styling her mother’s hair for the last time. “I knew this was it, but it made her happy and in that moment I was happy too.”

That’s why Nancy and her calling to just make people feel good in the moment while on hospice is in sync with the team at Hospice Care of the West who believe every moment we have a chance to transform, celebrate and honor the lives of our patients.  Nancy has been a hairstylist volunteer for Hospice Care of the West for about six months now.

She was introduced to Hospice Care of the West in 2010 when her husband, Paul Johnson, the longtime NBC4 Today in LA morning traffic reporter, went into hospice. He was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. Paul made the decision not to have any treatment radiation or chemotherapy.

“I don’t want to be sick while I’m sick,” Paul said to Nancy. “I want to live the bucket list while

there’s still time.”

So, they rode a B-29 bomber, saw a live performance of South Pacific and every weekend they celebrated his life with friends coming in from near and far for backyard barbecues.

“He had an amazing quality of life,” Nancy said. “If there is such a thing as a beautiful death, he had one. He died at home in my arms and he was not in pain. Deb Robson, of Hospice Care of the West, was with me, every step of the way. Sometimes she would come at midnight if I needed her. “

So, Nancy wanted to find a way to give back. She married her love for cutting hair with volunteering for the hospice.

She and Paul knew that she would probably be widowed as he was 22 years her senior. She recalled his first heart attack in 2006 that magnified this reality. At the time Nancy had retired for four years from cutting hair to spend time golfing and traveling with Paul. But after the heart attack, she wanted to go back to work. Within months of starting work at a shop in Newport Beach, the owners wanted to sell.

“He bought the shop for me, so I would have something to do after he died,” she said.

Whether at her shop, Shear Attitude in Newport Beach, or in the home of a hospice patient, Nancy wakes up every morning excited about who is going to be in her chair that day.

At just five years old, Nancy felt the first spark of passion to become a hairstylist when cutting her sister’s hair. The scissors meant for paper didn’t cut her hair perfect but the feeling of transforming her sister’s appearance resonated.  She equally recalls her mother’s displeasure with her sister’s new hairdo.

Her mother took the scissors away. But not for long, by 16 years old, Nancy knew cutting hair would be her life profession, though her mother wasn’t pleased.

“She wanted me to be a nurse,” Nancy says recalling her mother’s wish.

By high school, she was the go-to girl for hair and make-up for all of her friends. And she joined cosmetology school after graduation. She’s been behind the chair cutting hair since 1979.

“I don’t regret a day of it because I do what I love,” Nancy says. “I’ve always been a hairdresser. Things you enjoy as a child that you pursue as adult will probably make you very happy and very successful and that’s where I am at.”

Though Nancy didn’t become a nurse, her hospice volunteer service caring for hospice patients must make her mother proud.

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Bessie Anderson, 105, of Laguna Niguel is flying high as she fulfills her dream of soaring in the Great Park Balloon. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Shortly after her 105th birthday, hospice patient Bessie Anderson prepares to go up for a balloon ride at the Great Park in Irvine. The big orange helium balloon is nearly 74 feet in diameter. On the flight deck, Bessie is tucked into a wheelchair pushed by her granddaughter, Sheryl Villapania, 48, of Murrietta, who uses a wipe board to communicate to her. Though Bessie’s hearing is diminished, she works around this and continues to engage in conversation.

Bessie Anderson, 105, of Laguna Niguel is flying high as she fulfills her dream of soaring in the Great Park Balloon. The Irvine attraction flies 400 ft. high with a 360-degree view spanning up to 40 miles. Dream Catchers, made up of high school volunteers, grant last wishes for hospice patients. Anderson was thrilled with the views on this clear day and was grateful to everyone who made her dream come true.

“Are you scared?” Sheryl writes on the board.

Bessie reads the board then beams and says, “No, I’m excited.”

Sheryl Villapania of Murrieta, from left, wheels her grandma Bessie Anderson, 105, towards her dream ride as Tesoro High junior Emily Beals, 16, Dream Catchers president, gets a hug from Nancy Nicolosi, Hospice Care of the West nurse. Anderson’s wish was to fly on the Great Park Balloon in Irvine. Dream Catchers volunteers grant last wishes for hospice patients. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Bessie, of Laguna Nigel, is dressed up for her adventure flight. Her white hair is curled, blush enhances her cheekbones and a pearl necklace punctuates her coral silk blouse. Since the Great Park started free balloon rides in 2007, she has wanted to go up but never quite made it.

When her nurse, Nancy Nicolosi, 52, from Hospice Care of the West, talked of her recent flight, Bessie sat up in bed.

“I want to go for a balloon ride at the Great Park,” she said.

Nancy called on Dream Catchers, a group of high school volunteers who make last wishes come true for hospice patients. Emily Beals, 16, the new president of the organization, answered the call. She is a junior at Tesoro High School and recently took over from the founder of Dream Catchers, Caitlin Crommett, 17, who went off to college and started a chapter at Notre Dame in Indiana.

Since the organization began two years ago, Dream Catchers has granted 22 dying wishes.

Caitlin’s inspiration for making dreams happen for hospice patients came from volunteering since seventh grade for Hospice Care of the West and a scene from the movie “Patch Adams.”  In the movie, the doctor is focused on not just treating the disease but caring for the patients. The spark for Dream Catchers came when the doctor inspires a depressed old woman to eat again by making her dream — of plunging into a pool of spaghetti — a reality.

The Dream Catchers have taken hospice patients for one last sail on the Pacific, a walk with their family down Main Street at Disneyland and out for a special reunion dinner with family and friends, just to name a few. One of their goals is to reunite families for a shared moment when time is running out.

The balloon ride is the 23rd dream and Emily’s first as president of Dream Catchers. She reserved the balloon for Bessie with park operators.

As she arrives at the balloon flight deck, Emily tries to mask her jitters. Though there are four generations between them, Emily is more afraid of riding in the balloon than Bessie is.

“I would never do this on my own. I’m only doing this for Bessie,” she says. “My life is on the line here.”

Emily nervously strolls alongside Bessie, Sheryl and Nancy. The balloon operators strap Bessie in and electronically lift her onto the gondola. Bessie smiles with glee. Sheryl wheels her grandmother along the gondola edge as they choose a good lookout point. Emily holds on to Nancy, the nurse, as they step into the gondola.

The gate locks them in and they are ready for take off.

Up and up and up, the balloon takes flight, and Bessie says, “It’s so smooth and so quiet.”

She recalls how loud a ride on the Goodyear blimp was in the 1920s and then reflects on that time when people would step out of their houses to watch the blimp fly by.

Bessie Anderson, 105, of Laguna Niguel, is asked if the Great Park Balloon flight really was great by Emily Beals, 16, the Dream Catchers president. The charity makes last wishes come true for hospice patients. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The balloon reaches its zenith and floats. Emily’s

knuckles turn white as she grips the side of the gondola and looks out at the horizon, not daring to look down. The wind blows through Bessie’s hair and tickles her cheeks. She looks down at Orange County below without any sign of fear; she remembers that it was all orange groves when she was growing up.

“It’s like being in a skyscraper,” she says. “How high are we?”

The balloon operator says we are 40 stories high, about 400 feet up with a 360-degree view. When the balloon starts its descent, Emily looks relived. Upon landing, Bessie is glowing.

“Ahhhhh, that was a thrill! You know everybody doesn’t get to do that.”

Tears flow down Sheryl’s cheeks.

“I love to see her happy like that.” Sheryl says her father, Bessie’s son, just died in April. At the time, Bessie had pneumonia and suffered a heart attack that sent her into hospice care, which is available to those with six months or less to live.

“She still enjoys herself, every little piece of life,” Sheryl says.

“Yes, we did it,” Nancy says to Bessie.

After the flight, Caitlin’s Mom, Colleen Crommett, spreads a buffet of sandwiches on tables near the flight deck. As Bessie enjoys the lunch, her granddaughter, Sheryl explains on the wipe board how Emily organized this balloon ride. Bessie is amazed and beckons Emily to her side.

“Thank you so much,” she says with glistening eyes. “It was very sweet of you, dear.”

“You’re welcome Bessie,” Emily writes on the board.

“I know it

was a lot of work,” Bessie says to Emily. “If somebody told me I would get to do something like this at my age, I would never have believed them. So, I did. Everybody doesn’t get to ride in the big balloon.”

The story originally appeared in my Orange County Register Column Parting Ways. Contact the writer: denise@denisecarson.com

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