Now and then I am asked, “How can I possibility thank Victoria Hospice for all the help my own family received?”  I can only respond by speaking from my own experience and relating what Hospice gave to me and my family.     

My family received the gift of a peaceful and pain-controlled death from Hospice for Collette.  The grandchildren received the gift of a compassionate and truthful explanation of the death of their grandmother. I also received the gift of the Walking Group Program.  In a very short time I was with folks that understood my loss, held me when I cried, asked no questions and gave no advice.

The best way to thank Hospice is to let everyone in your community know about Hospice Palliative Care and how it helped you and your family.  The best way to speak about Hospice Palliative Care is from your own experience. You could also suggest to your bereaved friends that they take advantage of the programs that the bereavement office offers.

Despite 25 years of serving Greater Victoria many people simply do not know how Hospice Palliative Care can help their family.  Because cancer is one of the major causes of death many people perhaps assume Hospice is primarily for cancer victims.  Sometimes these misconceptions have to be treated with much kindness and understanding.  Our culture has great difficulty talking about death and it is not everyone who is open to frank discussion about the illness of a loved one.  Telling of your own experience in a gentle caring way is usually the best way to sow the seed        

We who have been given the gifts that Hospice gave us must get our message out to everyone in our Canada.  We must convince people that Hospice is not a place where people are left to die. It is a place where people are received with love, caring and the expertise to help them to live out their lives, free of pain, in dignity and at peace.  It is unconscionable that anyone should not have what a Hospice can offer.

All of us can do something to express our thanks for the gifts we have received.  Any Hospice has many needs and the most evident one is money.  While the medical expenses of a Hospice are paid for, as a right, under the Canada Health Act; we the community have to provide the funds for the other services such as bereavement and spiritual help. 

Beyond money those of us who are just a bit older have much to give to our community.  We have life experiences that we can pass on when the time is right. We have patience; we have the free time to help in our community. And most of all we can share with others the gifts we and our families received from Hospice.