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FEBRUARY 2020

In This Issue

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Notes From Friends

Hospice of the Valleys serves hundreds of patients each and every year. We honor them by sharing their stores. They remind us every day of the meaning and purpose in our work and that human connection is at the heart of the hospice experience

The following are notes Hospice of the Valleys has received from the families of patients that we have been privileged to provide hospice care.

"Our family wants to send a heartfelt thank you to all of your staff who showed such kindness and care for our beloved mother. We would absolutely your service to anyone."

"They were wonderful to my husband. Wonderful people and very comforting. Can't say enough about their help"

Amazon Smile. You shop. Amazon Gives.

If you love to shop Amazon, consider using
Amazonsmile.org
and designating Hospice of the Valleys as your charity of choice. Amazonsmile offers all that Amazon does, and Hospice of the Valleys will benefit at no cost to you!

If HOV Volunteers Ruled the World

By: Dr. Lynn Euzenas
Director of Spiritual Care & Bereavement Services

Dr. Lynn Euzenas - Hospice of the ValleysI want to share with you about a different kind of Valentine's heart: it is truly a "forever" kind of precious Valentine's gift. It is called a Memory Heart. Hospice of the Valleys presents this heart to the families of our patients upon their passing. This simple, special gift means so much to those who receive them.

As you see in the photo, one heart is contained inside the other heart. Upon the passing of a loved one, the inner heart can be removed and left with that loved one. Families understand the simple yet powerful message of this gift of a little heart: that a piece of their heart always goes with the person they love. This little heart is a reminder of the unbroken connection of love which lasts eternally.

I have seen families tie the smaller heart to their loved one's wrist, each family member making a know, as if each knot were a last embrace. I've watched a family gather round a beloved grandfather, all agreeing that he should wear the heart around his neck as an emblem of their love. Each family member placed a kiss and a prayer upon the heart as they helped him embrace his heavenly journey. A woman in one of our bereavement groups wore her heart frequently. She explained to her friends that her own heart would always have a hole in it, but that she would never, never, forget the wholeness of the love she shared with her husband who was and is "always my Valentine."

For some of you, the jazz standard "My Funny Valentine" is probably a familiar tune. It is from a 1937 musical by Rodgers and Hart called "Babes in Arms." In it, the female lead, Billie, sings the song to her new love "Valentine" Val Le Mar. She sings to him: "My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine, you make me smile with my heart." She then pokes fun at this rather ordinary looks, but impels him, "Don't change your hair for me, not if you care for me, stay little Valentine, stay." She ends the song, assuring him, that for her, always, "Each day is Valentine's Day."

At the challenging time of loss, when words often do not come easily, the Remembering Hearts help our families embrace the enduring bond with precious loved one. As they hold their half of the Memory Heart, they are assured that they will never be out of love for each other... that every day will continue to be, a Valentine's Day.

 

A very special thank you to our many community donors who generous gifts enable Hospice of the Valleys to offer this gift of the heart to our hospice families.

To Love and to Cherish

Dr. Leslee B. Cochrane
Executive Medical Director

Dr. Leslee Cochrane - Hospice of the ValleysAs Valentine's day approaches, love is in the air and the stores are filled with heart shaped boxes of chocolates, roses and teddy bears. When I was in grade school, Valentine's day was more about the candy than the Valentines cards; but when I approached courting age I realized that I would need to up my game if I wanted to impress my sweetheart. Fortunately for me, the flowers and chocolates paid off and on April 13th 1991 my best friend became my dearly beloved wife.

I felt like the luckiest man on earth when I recited my wedding vows "to take Susan as my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward!" What we have discovered together since our wedding day is that the second part of the wedding vows becomes the most important: "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death to us part ..." In the past 28 years we have seen both the better and the worse, the richer and the poorer and both sickness and health. Through those experiences we have discovered that the secret to navigating through the highs and lows in life is found by continually learning to practice what it means "to love and to cherish."

Love is a complex word with multiple meanings in our culture and so it comes as no surprise that there are multiple definitions for the word "love" in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Love is actually listed as both a noun and a verb and the top two definitions of love as a noun refer to the type of love a mother has for her child and the type of attraction and affection felt between lovers. The number one definition under love as a verb is to hold dear or to cherish. It seems to me that "to love and to cherish" are like two sides of a precious coin in that they are distinctive; yet both part of a unified whole. The romantic type of love is what draws us toward marriage and the verb or action of love- to cherish each other is necessary to sustain it.

To cherish means to keep or to old dear and to provide care with affection. Whether or not you are married, we must all face many challenges in life including sickness and health. Some will face the incredible challenge of having a loved one afflicted with a serious and debilitating disease such as dementia for which there is no cure. Whether that loved one is your spouse, your parent or just a dear friend, they desperately need to be loved and cherished. In my work as a physician I have been involved in providing end of life care for hundreds of patients and I am continually amazed by the difference that having a loving family member or friend present can make to the dying patient. This Valentine's Day, Hospice of the Valleys applauds the countless caregivers who continue to provide loving and compassionate end of life care to loved ones even when their loved one may no longer recognize who they are. Their selfless service exemplifies what it truly means "to love and to cherish till death do us part".

Would you love to donate a sweet treat to our patients and families?

One of our beloved Hospice of the Valleys nurses', Valerie, 7 year old daughter, Brynlie, is in her 3rd year of Girl Scouts as a Daisy and is selling Girl Scout cookies. She would love to raise donations to provide boxes of cookies to our patients and families and would like your help. If you would like to donate boxes of cookies to our patients and families, you can email or call Valerie at valerieflynt@gmail.com / 951-764-9755 with your name and phone number OR you can use the link below and make a donation online, notating it is for Girl Scout cookies and please indicate the number of boxes you'd like to donate. Each box of cookies is $5.00
https://hospiceofthevalleys.org/donate-now

We will be collecting cookie donations until March 15th and then the cookies will be distributed to our patients and families!

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  • Top Work Places 2014-2021 Award
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  • Hospice of the Valleys - Celebrating over 40 years
  • We Honor Veterans
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