If You Don't Respect Life, How Are You Able To Save It?

[Sara]

God created life so that it would be cherished, respected and treated with divine care.

Would you feel comfortable going to a Physician who purposely withheld VITAL resources regarding your LIFE?

If you work in the Medical Field and have a patient lying in bed, shivering from cold temperatures, would you put a blanket over them?

If you saw a small child playing alone in the middle of the street, would you move them to the sidewalk before danger approached?

If you happened across a blind man dying of thirst, would you lead him to the nearby drinking fountain?

Do you send your child out to play in the snow with bare feet?

Do you put your Grandparent ailing from Alzheimer's in charge of keeping track of all of your family's weekly activities?

Stupid Questions...Common Sense

Would a Cancer Doctor at the very least, share a folder of Hospice and Palliative Care Resources (of which, btw...are not the same thing) with her Patient during their "Medically, you've run out of options, basically you'll be dead soon" Meeting?

Stupid Question...Common Sense

Right??!!

Astoundingly, it's not...as I am sadly discovering it is not COMMON SENSE for many Cancer Doctors...how could this be??!!!

The very ones whom others trust with their VERY LIVES...not respecting it??!!!

The reality of this is terrifying for us all, because one thing we ALL will have in common is dying...

PLEASE do your part to increase Awareness of Hospice and Palliative Care.

Do you Respect Life? And if so, how could you not?

My Dad's Cancer Doctor never shared Palliative Care Resources with him at anytime...the only way we found out about it was through a lucky search on the Internet...so regarding this issue, in a sad, albeit strange way...Google was able to Respect my Father, while his Oncologist was not...

I love my Dad (Arend 'Odee' Lenderink)...and I am not okay with this having happened to him nor to anyone...

[Jeanie Holzbacher]

Thanks so much to all of you doing your part to get the word out!!! We cannot seem to educate fast enough. People need to know hospice is NOT just about dying with dignity but about living as fully as possible as long as possible for the remainder of time they have!!! We can and must make this happen!!! Just this month I heard from 3 families whose loved ones we had cared for in our program. Guess what they each said? "If only we had known all the ways we could benefit from hospice, we would have taken advantage of your services sooner!" We have to get the fear out of the word "hospice" and replace it with EMPOWERMENT. Respectfully, Jeanie

[Frances Shani Parker]

Sara, keep on spreading the word. That's how we change the world--one person at a time. People who think one person can't make a difference haven't been to bed with a mosquito. You were so fortunate to have a man like your father in your life. Your love for him oozes from each sentence. I wish you the best. Frances

[Greg Schneider]

Thanks!

[Sara]

Here's the link to my post, I'm also spreading around the net in various other places as well...I know that it is not a lot, but when it comes to awareness...every little bit helps and if we all do a little bit, our total sum is an incredibly huge impact...

http://papamore.blogspot.com/2009/04/jesus-hands-at-work.html

[Sara]

I've already posted about this place on the blog I made for my Dad and will now definately include the other wonderful sources and links to that you've shared as well...

Again, so much thanks...

Blog for my Dad...
http://papamore.blogspot.com

[Sara]

Greg, that is fabulous! Hospice and Palliative Care Awareness has now become a part fo me, I am incredibly passionate about this cause and am here to help however I'm able.

My Dad recently passed, January 11, 2009...from AML Leukemia...the week after he died I just had to do something and begin to try to spread Hospice, Palliative Care Awareness a bit on my own, I really didn't even know much at all about all the incredible organizations like yours yet then...just that I could not and still can not believe these heaven sent resources are sometimes not even shared at all by physicians...

I immediately discovered how tragically common our own situation is, so many have been so hurt by those choosing not share these vital resources. And by sharing, honestly, it must be done right from the start of a potential terminal disease, always in written form including valuable resources...to just bring up a word "hospice" at that "final meeting" in which a physician relays to a patient and their family that it's most likely the end...that's not sharing. This traumatizing of a situation for those experiencing it...well, of course no one should expect them to remember something someone mentioned once, hinted at, etc.

Where is the love?

Well, it's here...with all of me...thank you for what you've done and do...there could truly be no greater gift for others...to myself, with no question or doubt, you are all angels...xoxoxo

[Greg Schneider]

Hi Sara,

This is precisely why I started the Hospice Educators Affirming Life (HEAL) Project in 1999. I was volunteering in hospice and saw so many patients being referred to hospice care very late in their dying process. I also found so many people did not know what hospice or palliative care was. So the HEAL Project set out to create a greater awareness of these topics through its Community Outreach Program in Education (COPE). Our resources are free and they inform people about end-of-life care related topics. Our goal was to help the general public become aware of hospice and palliative care well before they needed it so they can make compassionate decisions about LIFE when the need arises. And it will arise at some time in everyone's life.

Since that time the HEAL Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has sponsored the Hospice Volunteer Association (HVA), this Hospice Community Forum, Hannah's Friends and it will soon be launching the Hospice Volunteer Training Institute. These all have an education focus.

Keep up the good work!!

Greg