In my role as Director of Resident Care at St. Joseph’s Hospice, I walk these hallways every day. I see the wives who haven’t slept in their own bed for weeks. The children visiting dad every chance they get because they cannot bear to be away for long. The family members who pull their chair as close as it will go, just to hold a hand for as long as they can.
These families are here to make every moment count. To be present for someone they love, all the way to the end. Right now, I am asking for your help to make sure they can.
We need your help — urgently.
Beyond our annual operating costs, we are raising funds right now for sleeper chairs and over-bed tables for our hospice suites. They are necessities that allow families to stay close during the hardest days of their lives.
An over-bed table keeps a resident’s photos, books, and cherished belongings within reach, the small things that make a suite feel like home. A sleeper chair means a spouse, a daughter, a son never has to leave. They can rest right there, just feet away, and wake to be near at first light.
This is our mission, to ensure that no one faces life’s most sacred moments alone. That every resident is surrounded by dignity and gentleness, and every family can simply be present for what matters most.
These are the moments families will carry with them forever. And you can help make them possible.
Please don’t wait. Families are walking through our doors right now. Every gift, at any level helps us provide the compassionate, hands-on care that holds residents and families close in their final days. You can help these families spend every moment that matters together.
Donate by phone at 519-931-3479, or online by clicking the Give Here button.
Sisters Reunited
I want to share a story with you. I’ve worked in hospice care for many years, and I know what a room sounds like when it’s holding something precious.
When you donate to hospice, you make space for more families to experience this kind of closeness at the end of life. You make moments like in this story possible.
I remember one resident clearly. She had lived a difficult life, dealing with many troubles, and was nearing the end. But she wasn’t alone, her sister was with her.
hey had spent much of their lives estranged, separated by both distance and circumstance. But somehow, before the end, they found their way back to each other.
That night, her sister sat beside her, curled into a chair, drifting in and out of sleep but never leaving her side. At one point, she shared with me how beautiful it felt to be together again. How it reminded her of when they were little girls, falling asleep beside each other, just like their sleepovers together.
After everything that had kept them apart, here they were, side by side once more.
As the room grew still, her sister reached for her hand and began to sing “Abide with Me.” Softly. Gently. With love. And peacefully, she passed.
In the midst of grief, there was also deep gratitude. Gratitude for the chance to reconnect. To sit beside her. To feel connected to their past. To hold her hand. To not miss this moment.
This is what your support makes possible!
-Donna, Reg. N.
