Time and again , the birds were chirping in the large cage tucked into a corner of the family room at Good Samaritan Society .
Sometimes , simply listening to the birds will do , but other times , it won ’ t . Oh , there have been other ideas — maybe it ’ s a trip to Pennsylvania to visit a friend , maybe it ’ s a last-ditch hot-air balloon ride .
No matter what , the ideas that rage from the hospice patients ’ minds run the gamut , and it ’ s up to Sherelyn Hornick and Sarah Meeker to provide in the best way possible .
“ We don ’ t always ask , but we ’ re trying to ask now , if there was anything they would like to do before they would pass because they ’ re in hospice ,” said Hornick , a registered nurse and case manager for the Good Samaritan Hospice . “ And we had one patient who said , ‘ I want to go fishing one more time .’
“ And so I started asking questions and got directed to Sarah . And we put together a fishing trip for this gentleman .”
Meeker appears tailor-made for this kind of response . She is the activities director for Good Sam , a bubbly personality to counteract most people ’ s impressions surrounding hospice , which aren ’ t typically positive feelings .
“ We have a resident here not from this hospice , but he was a recent admit for that . And I just asked at the table , ‘ What if you could do one thing , one last time ? What would that be ?’ And the reaction I got was like tears . Sometimes , it ’ s just the simple things ,” she said . “ Like getting on your knees and praying one last time . Or , with David , it was fishing .
“ It ’ s hard work to die . It ’ s hard on our hearts , our bodies , our spirit . It ’ s hard on all of it ,” Meeker said . “ So to just provide that last thing , even if it ’ s just the simple hold of a hand , it ’ s worth everything . For these people , life is truly fleeting .”
“ It ’ s hard work to die . It ’ s hard on our hearts , our bodies , our spirit . It ’ s hard on all of it . So to just provide that last thing , even if it ’ s just the simple hold of a hand , it ’ s worth everything . For these people , life is truly fleeting .”
- Sarah Meeker , Good Samaritan Activities Director
Such was the case for David Steen , who requested the fishing trip . Meeker put together the trip to Pioneer Ridge , complete with Canteen sandwiches , in an hour . Most times , when scheduling a time to fulfill the request , there is a lot of cooperation to see it through .
“ The trip to Pioneer Ridge wasn ’ t hard at all . I just called them and told them the situation ,” Meeker said . “ They said , ‘ Come out .’ So the hardest part was finding a time that he felt well enough to do it . That was pretty much it . Everybody is always so joyful and ready to help in any way .”
“ And his family was so very grateful for that opportunity for him ,” Hornick said .
Hornick said Steen wasn ’ t having a good day , but when it was time to go to Pioneer Ridge , it changed .
Timing is everything
Because patients are in hospice , their condition can change day to day , or even minute to minute . Hence , the importance of timing , which is essentially out of anyone ’ s control .
“ Even just in the nursing home setting itself , people can go from one to 100 . It can be in the morning they ’ re fine , and in the afternoon , they ’ re not ,” Meeker said . “ So the sooner we can jump on it , the easier it is .”
Photos : Left : Good Samaritan Hospice patient Larry Miller before he takes a ride in his 1972 Plymouth Duster . Miller told Good Sam ’ s Sherelyn Hornick and Sarah Meeker that was what he wanted for his final wish , and he took the ride with his brother .
Right : Good Samaritan Society activities director Sarah Meeker ( right ) poses for a photo with hospice patient David Steen during a fishing trip to Pioneer Ridge , which was Steen ’ s final wish before he died .
Submitted Photos
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