by Arleen Macpherson
Published in Match 1999
The twelfth Annual Mayor’s Dinner, April 10th, 1999, honours Lucille Mitchell, founder and past president of Hospice of Waterloo Region. Hospice offers individualized care to dying persons and stresses living fully until the very end of life, with dignity and in comfort. It recognizes that patients with terminal illnesses can have some control over their lives until the end and that the grief suffered by their surviving relatives and friends can be eased by trained caregivers. Hospice of Waterloo Region joins the growing number of hospices that are developing around the world. There are currently more than six hundred and fifty programs and services across Canada alone and they can be accessed by patients who are in hospital, seniors’ homes, or in their own homes. Trained hospice volunteers provide emotional and spiritual support to families and patients as well as practical help to caregivers who need a break from responsibilities. They support and augment the palliative or terminal care given by a multi-disciplinary team of professional caregivers. As Lucille Mitchell says, “We won’t be doing nursing care. We will be those extra hands that other services in the community, like homecare or VON, don’t fill. We will fill the void when they can’t be there. And our services will be free, staffed by volunteers. We envision being able to reach out to a lot of people who would otherwise be left in the lurch.”
Filling a Community Need
There are many reasons to believe that a great and growing need for hospice care exists in our community and elsewhere. The population is aging at the same time as the health care system is becoming even more community-based. These factors place more responsibility on family members for the care of those zwho are dying and increase the need for support services.
A national survey conducted by the Angus Reid Group in 1997 concluded that hospice care is the kind of care close to 90% of Canadians say they want at the end of life. However, only 6% of Canadians feel that they could adequately care for a loved one facing a life-threatening illness without outside assistance.
The Failure of a Community
I am reminded of a patient many years ago who died very alone in a room in a hospital where I had my first job as a nurse. This is a prime example of where all caregivers failed miserably because of a lack of training and experience, and I have deeply regretted ever since my own inadequacy at the time. The patient was a middle-aged, single woman who was stricken with terrible cancer of the face. It ate away at her eyes, nose, one ear, and her mouth, left her with grossly distorted features and a foul discharge that had to be cleaned and dressed regularly. This, it seems to me, is the only care that she received. Her private room door was closed at night and when it was reopened in the morning, the stench made all members of the staff loath to enter the room. Unfortunately, no one did unless it was necessary to do dressings, make the bed, or serve meals. She had no visitors and seemed to have no family. She was very patient, never complained, never asked for anything, and always seemed grateful for the smallest amount of care that was given to her. I remember well her calmness, her enduring patience, and the mysterious sense of wisdom and peace that she exuded. She never made me feel inadequate. I believe now that she had accepted death and that she finally died with great dignity and grace.
I don’t know what physical or emotional agonies she may have suffered, for I regret that I never got to know her. But she remains a gift in my life. She lives on in my memory as a truly glorious human being. Hospice care might have made so much difference to this woman in the final stage of her life. Nobody even thought of it!
The Success of a Community
Margaret Frazer, on the other hand, also a single woman with no family close by, was the beneficiary of one of the best possible and best-known examples of hospice care available. Sixty acquaintances and friends took turns being with her around the clock during the final three months of her life. The inspiring story of Margaret and her team became a book, Twelve Weeks in Spring, written by well-known author and team member, June Callwood. Callwood describes this experiment in palliative care as “the human tribe functioning at its best.” Margaret’s life ended “in a defiant blossoming of vitality and love” while her friends “discovered their own unexpected strength and humanity.” As Lucille Mitchell says, “There isn’t a volunteer who wouldn’t say that we get so much more than we give – I think we are both richer for the experience.”
Local Response
Hospice of Waterloo Region is a community-based and volunteer driven response to the needs of local people. As such, it has its own unique character because it is locally designed, complements existing local programs, and sets its own goals. During the period from March 1997 to April 1998 local hospice volunteers provided approximately 11,978 hours of their time to individuals and families in need. In the background, supporting this work, are the dreamers, fundraisers, coordinators, and directors whose work assures the vitality and the stability of the program.
In a similar way, The Working Centre got its humble start more than seventeen years ago in this community with a general goal of extending hospitality and of responding in a personal way to employment-related needs of local people. St. John’s Kitchen, which opened in 1985, is a visible expression of that enduring goal. It offers a safe hospitable drop-in place and daily nutritious meals to all those in need. The Working Centre itself has grown and evolved to the extent that it offers, without cost, all job search resources, strong personalized support, and wonderful tools for simple daily living and personal fulfillment to as many as 150 people per day.
We are very grateful for the support given to us at the Annual Mayors’ Dinner and we are pleased to have this occasion to honour local citizens who have made a significant contribution to their community. And so we say, “Good for you, Lucille Mitchell! You have given a lasting gift to your community. We honour you.”
