“ I would love to see this expand . Certainly it would be lovely to have a community-wide involvement so we could make grander things happen , or do more of them .”
- Sarah Meeker , Good Samaritan Activities Director
“ We rallied him ,” she chuckled . “ He did not understand , so I had them get him dressed for the day without telling him why we were doing that .”
“ All she had to do was say ‘ fishing ’ and he was rabid ,” Meeker said . “ He was ready to go .”
It is not unusual for requests to include family members , but Steen didn ’ t have any nearby family , so Hornick and Meeker participated with him on the fishing trip .
“ We just made sure that with David his trip happened ,” Hornick said . “ We took him and he showed us how to fish .”
Another patient , Larry Miller , wanted one last ride in his 1972 Plymouth Duster , which he took with his brother . If any of the Good Samaritan staff are asked to accompany the patient , they won ’ t refuse , but they acknowledge that the wishes are primarily about the patient .
“ What was important , like Sherelyn said , was that he got to ride in that car with people that he thought were special to him ,” Meeker said . “ It ’ s ultimately about what they want , and what their last wish is . If they don ’ t want stragglers , they don ’ t have to have them . We ’ ll just make it happen for them .”
Hornick and Meeker said they just missed granting a patient a hot-air balloon ride , as weather did not cooperate enough to allow that to happen .
“ It was in the works for the morning the man died ,” Meeker said . “ We had a few times set up , but the weather just wasn ’ t … with a hot-air balloon it ’ s so touch and go , and so that one was a little trickier .”
How it all started
Several years ago , Hornick had a son who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis , and their family was able to take a trip to Disney World as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation . That experience was the driving force behind what she and her team are doing at Good Sam .
“ It ’ s probably been sitting there in the back of my brain ,” she said . “ Just starting this job I ’ ve recently had to take care of my parents , and try to do the little things to make their lives happier . I don ’ t think this has been done locally here before , but it does kind of remind me of Make-A-Wish for kids . So we just kind of started bouncing ideas off each other .”
Meeker said there was very little difficulty in convincing Good Sam administrator Vani Tschantz to pursue the idea for patients .
“ She is supportive 100 %. Anything for the betterment of the people who live here , because we are in their home ,” Meeker said . “ We often hear that we ’ re working in these people ’ s homes , and essentially that is the truth . This is their home . We just come here to provide services for them , so Vani was naturally on board .
“ Sometimes people in nursing homes are forgotten , so they are put in a home and they don ’ t have family ,” she said . “ They don ’ t get the opportunity to go places unless it ’ s a trip with the facility . So for her to see that , and someone like Sherelyn who was so excited and pumped about having this opportunity for these people , it ’ s a bonus for all of us . There was just never a question in our minds that we wanted to do this .”
Hands forever
To add to what they are already doing for the patient with their final wishes , Meeker has also come up with an idea to mold the patient ’ s hands and make a cast as a keepsake for family members .
“ So we ’ re getting mold kits , and we actually take a hand and put it into a mold . It comes out perfectly ,” she said . “ You can see all the lines in the hand and the way they ’ re folded in there . It ’ s basically putting two hands together so they can keep that in their memory . David ’ s held a fishing lure .
“ And then some couples will just be able to hold hands forever ,” she said . “ They will always be able to keep that moment forever .”
Again , timing was critical . The mold for Steen wasn ’ t completed until after his funeral , even though the family hoped to have it in time .
“ Unfortunately we weren ’ t able to get it , but we ’ d like to start doing that stuff a little bit sooner ,” Meeker said .
Meeker stumbled on the idea when she heard of other places in the country that had done something similar .
“ I had been given a kit at Christmas , and I thought we could just try it and see ,” she said . “ And it turned out amazing . And so we ’ re just pumped to do it now . I just think it ’ s beautiful .”
The future of good deeds
Obviously , Good Sam isn ’ t flush with so much cash that it can afford to send a resident on a long trip to see a buddy . That doesn ’ t mean there can ’ t be more involvement outside of Good Sam ’ s walls , Meeker said .
“ I would love to see this expand . We haven ’ t really even gotten that far because we ’ ve just been so focused on what we can do for that person right then ,” she said . “ Certainly it would be lovely to have a community-wide involvement , so we could make grander things happen , or do more of them .
Hornick echoed her colleague .
“ Step by step , right ?” she said . “ Do what we can , and keep our eyes open for opportunities .”
6 Senior Resource Guide 2022