by admin | Jun 3, 2013 | Volunteering
Last week at a Hospice Austin Volunteer Forum (an educational event held quarterly for our volunteers), about 20 of us were having a wonderful conversation with one of our doctors about the physician’s role on the Hospice Austin team when a visitor to the group raised...
by admin | Apr 26, 2013 | Being Present
If last week had been a fish, I would have thrown it back. It seemed that we couldn’t turn around without encountering another heartbreaking story or situation. The Boston Marathon bombing; the devastating explosion in West, Texas; a destructive earthquake in China;...
by admin | Apr 9, 2013 | Uncategorized
I cannot exist without in some sense taking part in you, in the child I once was, in the breeze stirring the down on my arm, in the child starving far away, in the flashing round of the spiral nebula. ~Catherine Keller~ ...
by admin | Mar 21, 2013 | Being Present, Bereavement, Uncategorized
This is our choice in every moment. Do we relate to our circumstances with bitterness or with openness? ~Pema Chodron~ If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without. ~Eckhart Tolle from The Power of...
by admin | Feb 22, 2013 | Being Present, Bereavement
It’s six o’clock on Monday morning Feb. 11th and I’m just shuffling off to the shower when I hear my phone receive a text message. It is from a teacher at my son’s former elementary school. Apparently, one of her fourth graders hadn’t come to school on Friday so she...
by admin | Feb 14, 2013 | Hospice, Uncategorized, Volunteering
Every February when people all over the country are preparing to celebrate Valentine’s Day by buying candy or flowers, giving gifts or taking a loved one to dinner – all in the name of St. Valentine – my thoughts turn to leading an outreach drive to...
by admin | Nov 20, 2012 | Caregiving, Hospice
There is a beautiful milkweed bush in the garden outside of room 4 at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. It’s in full bloom right now, full of red and yellow flowers. Recently, Joyce,* the loved one of Hospice Austin patient Bob* in Room 4, was sitting on the patio...
by admin | Nov 20, 2012 | Hospice, Season for Caring, Volunteering
Just so you won’t worry, this story has a happy ending. It starts off sad, because Curtis, a 50-year-old Hospice Austin patient, had lost his cat, Steve, and normally lost cat stories don’t end well. You may remember Curtis from a previous Season of Caring Campaign...
by admin | Nov 2, 2012 | Bereavement, Volunteering
Hospice Austin has lost a very good friend. Quincy, the beloved therapy dog who visited Hospice Austin’s Christopher House every Friday, passed away after an illness. A memorial service to celebrate his life and his service to our patients, family and staff, was...
by admin | Aug 15, 2012 | Caregiving, Hospice
The living journey with Hospice Austin…I visited my mom Debbie today, who is in her fourth month of hospice care; she is 77 years old. I picked up lunch for both of us to have a mini picnic outside her nursing facility before it gets too hot. I arrived a bit early and...
