Mr. Beagle with his beautiful granddaughter. He reunited with her after telling his hospice chaplain that seeing her again was the most important thing to him.
We see it again and again, without fail. Often, bucket-list wishes are about people and relationships. We saw it again recently when a grandfather in our care expressed his deepest desire.
Sally, Mr. Beagle’s Hospice Care Plus chaplain, asked him what was most important to him during one of her visits. (We ask this of all our patients, regularly). He said breathing was most important, because difficulty breathing is his biggest challenge. But his wife urged him to think more carefully about his answer.
“Now, now,” she said. “There’s something much more important to you than that.”
She clearly thinks the world of him, too.
He paused for a few seconds, until tears filled his eyes. Then, he told our chaplain that there is someone special he really needs to see.
His three-year-old granddaughter lives 4 hours away. He and his wife raised her until she was 14 months old. He hadn’t seen her since. He adores her and, in that moment that he told Sally about her, it was clear that being with her is definitely what’s most important to him right now.
Thankfully, his team–Sally, his nurse Paige, and his social worker, Jackie–are committed to honoring these bucket-list wishes for patients and families. They went to work–contacting family members, asking questions–and discovered that the granddaughter and her parents very much wanted to visit, but money was tight and they weren’t sure how to pay for the fuel to get there and back.
So, we dug into our special fund for bucket-list wishes and found enough to provide a $50 gift card to fund the trip.
It was worth every penny, and then some. Just look at these pictures. Not only is it clear that he is at peace now that he’s with her again, but also that this child adores her grandfather. What an incredible moment to have captured, so that, in the years to come, she will have something to remember the special trip she took to see the grandfather who couldnt’ rest until he saw her again.
Wishes like these are made possible exclusively through donations from people like you.
Help us celebrate National Hospice and Palliative Care Day by donating or volunteering with Hospice Care Plus at #WeHonorLife.
Hospice Care Plus empowers those we serve to enjoy the highest quality of life, respecting their values, beliefs, needs, and goals through specialized care, education, resources, and grief support.
Our Service Area:
Our Home Hospice and Home Palliative Care programs serve you, wherever you call home, in the Kentucky counties of Estill, Jackson, Lee, Madison, Owsley, and Rockcastle.
Our inpatient care facility, the Compassionate Care Center, and administrative offices are located in Richmond, Kentucky.
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News & Events
Big Blue Madness & Dueling Pianos!
Hospice Care Plus is excited to announce a new fundraiser that combines Kentucky’s love for basketball with music, comedy, an auction, and great food. On Friday, October 16th, Hospice Care Plus will host “Dueling Pianos & Big Blue Madness,” a new event at RT’s Cafe in Richmond. The fun begins at 7pm. The night begins…
New Study Links Hospice to Reduced Depression for Spouses
A new study shows that spouses of hospice patients have fewer depression symptoms than those whose spouses did not receive hospice care. The research was conducted at Mt. Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine and published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers studied Medicare claims data and responses to the Health and Retirement Study, which focuses on…
Poker Ride Benefit Coming Sept. 12
For the sixth year, the owners of L & P Liquor are hosting the Annual L&P Liquor Poker Ride to benefit Hospice Care Plus. The event is on Saturday, September 12, 10 AM, at Yesterday’s Bar and Grill at 826 Heath East Street in Richmond. Registration begins at 10AM and the ride begins at noon. The…
Karaoke Fundraiser at Purdy’s on June 11
Mr. Don Ray, a Hospice Care Plus patient, has a bucket-list wish. And, amazingly, that bucket-list wish is to do something for someone else. He has asked if he can do a small fundraiser for Hospice Care Plus, because he wants to give something back to the people caring for him and for others. So,…