It’s the most wonderful time of the year and I’m not just talking about the holiday season. It’s the roll out of the Bristol Health Homecare and Hospice’s Annual Lights of Love campaign.
This coincides with our celebration of National Hospice and Palliative Care month. Hospice is a philosophy of care for the end of life and includes a team approach. The team is comprised of doctors, nurses, social workers, aides, chaplain, bereavement care and volunteers. These funds allow our hospice to provide services not covered by insurances such as massage and Reike as well as for those special everyday needs.
I like to think of this campaign as “lots of love” “because of the difference it makes in a hospice patient and their families lives.
Last Christmas we were able to use these funds to purchase Christmas presents for the family of our hospice patient which included a seven year old child. Their hospice nurse worked diligently to purchase, wrap and deliver these gifts. Talk about seeing the joy on that mother’s face, it was priceless. These funds are not just used for the holidays they are used to help our families year round.
Hospice is not about giving up, it’s about living every day to its fullest, whether it’s a bowl of ice cream with family or maybe even a wedding. This past year we had a patient on our hospice service who wanted to get married. Yes, hospice is about taking advantage of everyday we have. Our hospice volunteer was able to use these funds to purchase food for their small reception, order the patients favorite cake and top it off with flowers. Those wedding vows took on a whole new meaning that day.
Recently we were able to use these funds to purchase food for a hospice patient and his family. Serious illness affects more than just the patient; it affects the family emotionally, spiritually and financially. Our hospice volunteers went shopping and delivered groceries to the family. We were able to fill their fridge and cabinets and also ended up filling their hearts with joy .This is just another example of “lots of love.”
We also use these “Lights of Love” donations for our annual Spring Service of Remembrance. This is a well-attended service honoring and remembering our patients and loved ones that had passed away over the past year. It is a wonderful support to families as well as to our hospice staff.
Please consider opening your hearts and donate to this wonderful” Lights of Love” campaign and help make a difference in someone’s life.