ProMedica Hospice serving Northwest Ohio recently helped their patient, Beth Higgins, have the wedding of her dreams. She met her future husband, Gary, on a blind date over a year ago. After being together for a couple of months, Beth was diagnosed with Terminal Cancer of the abdomen with metastases to the liver. She was told by her doctors that she only had three weeks to live, so she opted to return home after staying in a rehabilitation center.

In April, she chose ProMedica Hospice Care and when talking with her caregivers she told them her only wish was to be able to celebrate Gary’s birthday on June 20th. Gary and Beth had previous conversations about marriage and when Gary found out Beth’s last wish, he wanted to have their wedding on his birthday. The ProMedica Hospice team got to work right away to make both Beth and Gary’s wish come true.

Beth had always dreamed of getting married on the beach, being barefoot and feeling the sand between her toes. Upon hearing of Beth’s dream, the ProMedica team was able to reserve a spot at Maumee Bay State Park which has a beach close enough for Beth to travel to. Beth made all of the decorations for the wedding along with her bouquet. At Maumee Bay, Gary and the ProMedica team decorated the gazebo.

It was a true team effort to make Beth and Gary’s dream wedding perfect! Tim Strachan, volunteer coordinator, worked with Wixey’s Bakery for their wedding cake and he delivered it to the location. He was also able to arrange a room for the night at the lodge for the new happy couple. Angela Williams, RN case manager, found a photographer to capture the couples’ special day and Terri Wilcox, RN case manager, made sure all the decorations made it to the ceremony. Dana Vore, office manager, and Jennifer Wilson, social worker, picked up the food for the reception from Shorty’s Back 40 that was provided thanks to the ProMedica Foundation.

It was a beautiful sunny day for a wedding. ProMedica Hospice chaplain, Mike, performed the ceremony. Everyone watched as Beth walked down the aisle barefoot and all smiles upon seeing Gary under the beautifully decorated gazebo. Beth and Gary couldn’t be happier with their wedding and look forward to spending their time together as husband and wife.

Heartland Hospice serving Northwest Ohio and ProMedica Hospice serving Northwest Ohio received a generous donation of 136 cases of Suave Hand Sanitizer from Unilever Corporation. The nurses and aides are very thankful for this amazing show of support to our community hospice agencies.

Heartland Hospice and ProMedica Hospice appreciate Unilever Corporation for reaching out to them about their needs in order to continue to support our patients during this time. The hand sanitizer was able to be split between seven of the agencies in the area.

ProMedica Hospice serving Northwest Ohio hosted Camp Fearless, a summer bereavement camp for children and adolescents who have experienced the loss of a loved one. The free bereavement day camp features therapeutic activities, arts and crafts and team building exercises led by a team of professional counselors, hospice team members and trained volunteers. Children explore issues related to the impact that loss can have on their lives in a safe and supportive atmosphere.

Ava, Kaiah and Kali Duncan shared photos of their mom with other campers at Camp Fearless. “Our mom passed away when we were really little. We’ve been doing really fun projects, some just for us and some for our lost loved one,” said Ava. “It makes you feel better,” said Kali. “It makes you feel like, happy. Not sad or anything,” said Kaiah. The girls lost their mom about eight years ago and have been going to Camp Fearless the past three summers.

Camp Fearless is offered in a number of communities across northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan during the summer. The theme for camp this year is “Growing in Grief” in which the kids are making pop bottle planters and piecing broken pots back together. “Our goal is to teach them healthy coping skills so that they can move forward in their adventures in life,” said Kelly Macy, ProMedica Hospice Social Worker.

Through the activities; volunteers and camp leaders encourage the kids to find different ways to cope with their emotions and let them out. The camp leaders notice a true transformation. “They’re really awesome kids and how they come from being afraid to walk in the doors, to being best friends with people by the time they leave,” said Kelly.

The program also provides an opportunity for parents and guardians to meet individually with camp leaders to discuss the individual needs of the children and family following loss. Hospice staff provides information and connects families with additional resources to help children continue to grow and move forward on their grief journey.

WTOL Story and Video

An air of complete calm and quiet hit me as soon as I walked in the door of ProMedica Ebeid Hospice Residence. It was the strangest thing. I guess I was expecting typical hospital noises including loud conversations, call bells and intrusive intercom messages. But there was nothing but peace.

A friend had planted the volunteering seed in me over a year before that initial visit. And like many good things, it took some nurturing. I thought about it a great deal, spoke with a few close friends and read up on it.

Initially one of my greatest concerns was that I would end up reliving the pain and sorrow that I had successfully put behind me. I realized that I really knew very little about hospice, as my wife and I had not really been exposed to the program. But as I thought about all the negatives, I started to notice that my mind would be filled with good memories of all the kind and gentle things friends and staff had done for us during my wife’s terrible ordeal.

It had taken me nearly a year to get to that point and take the first step toward getting involved in such an emotional situation. But as soon as I visited Ebeid Hospice, I realized I was ready and it was payback time.

Although I’ve been a hospice volunteer for five years, I realized some time ago this is exactly where I belong. This is where I can all make a very positive difference in the lives of others who are in great pain. This is the opportunity to sit and listen, to hold a hand, to offer advice when appropriate. But more importantly, it’s the opportunity to hear what patients and families are trying to say.

Do I have thoughts of the pain I went through so many years ago? Of course, but those memories are much softer now as I realize that I am making a difference.

Chuck Owen is a Sylvania, Ohio, resident and has been a hospice volunteer with ProMedica Hospice since 2013. This is his fourth and final blog in a 4-part series on loss and grief.