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APRIL 2019

In This Issue

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Upcoming Events

June 17
10:00am
Caregiver Burnout talke with Dr. Lynn Euzenas
Lake Elsinore Senior Center 420 East LakeShore Dr. Lake Elsinore
July 18
10:00am
Stroke Prevent talk with Dr. Cochrane
Atria Park of Vintage Hills 41780 Butterfield Stage Rd. Temecula
August 22
10:00am
Five Wishes
Hospice of the Valleys 25240 Hancock Ave. Suite 120

Please RSVP by phone or email

951-200-7800
knecochea@hovsc.org

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Going with the Flow of Life

By: Dr. Lynn Euzenas

Director of Spiritual Care & Bereavement Services

Dr. Lynn Euzenas - Hospice of the ValleysDear Friends:

In 2000, Native American elders of the Hopi Nation issued a statement which was both a prediction of things to come and advice on how to survive. They envisioned a fast moving river, with many people clinging for dear life to its banks, trying not to get swept away. There were also those who chose to jump into the fastest part of the wild river and got swept away. There were those who saw a large log, floating down the center of the river. They saw the log, swam to it and embraced it, then rode it together down the center of the river, carried by it. The elder's advice to those on the log was to notice who was beside them, to greet them, and to understand that these were your companions on the turbulent journey... your sisters and brothers. They were not swept away by the current, but learned to live in its midst.

Living in the midst of the turbulent river is a potent image. We contemporize it by calling it going with the flow of life. But it is the same joumey. Life is challenging and not always smooth sailing. Just when things seem to be humming along splendidly we get thrown a curve ball: a cancer diagnosis, the sudden loss of a dear one, a time of financial diffculty, having to provide care for a loved one with dementia. In those times we want to cling to the moments before the crisis emerged, like those on the banks of the river, thinking if we just held on long enough we'd be okay. We want to let go and dive in, thinking we might get ahead of the challenge and change its outcomes.

It takes courage to go with the flow: to face the challenge at hand and hang on to it. The elders healing advice makes for good coping skills: notice who is there beside you, for that one will understand your shared joumey. find out whom you could call a compadre on your diffcult path: perhaps someone who has had more experience in surviving the challenge, someone with wisdom and experience, someone who is kind. Find someone who will support and guide you and let you relax into the flow, assuring you that while it may seem precarious now, your chances of survival are good.

That is why your team at Hospice of the Valleys embraces the concept of hospice care: we have traveled the difficult joumey through the end of life, know the handholds, and know how to companion you with kindness and expertise. That is why we offer bereavement support groups, and groups for Alzheimer's/dementia caregivers: we can you find the road maps for the bumpy terrain ahead and help reduce the pitfalls. In so many ways, that is why we do what we do: to take your hand so that you are not swept away by the current, to help you discover how to live in the midst of these deeply human challenges, and to guide you as a fellow traveler to the wisdom that life is sometimes rich, and sometimes tragic, but always, that life is a most previous gift. A gift to be shared.

Going with the Flow of Life

Dr. Leslee B. Cochrane

Executive Medical Director

A few years ago, my son Daniel and I went on a week long canoe trip with our Scout Troop along a stretch of the majestic Yukon River. The Yukon River was the primary route traveled by over 100,000 brave souls during the famous 1897 Klondike Gold Rush, and there are still scattered abandoned villages and a mostly intact steam paddlewheel ship left along the river to this day.

On the seventh day of our trip we were to encounter a challenging portion of the river known as the Five finger Rapids. Our guide carefully prepared us for our passage through this dangerous section of the river and my son and I were partnered along with the guide in the lead canoes.

As we broke camp on the morning we were to negotiate the rapids, we packed everything into water proof bags which we then loaded and lashed into our canoes. My son and I were assigned to travel in the lead boats with the guides and the plan was that once we passed through the rapids, we would stand by downriver ready to rescue anyone who capsized. Little did we know what was about to happen.

Following the directions of our guide we lined our boats for a straight shot through the rapids. About half way through the rapids, my sons boat hit a wave that partially swamped the boat and pushed it sideways. At the direction of the guide he paddled furiously to realign the boat; but they had taken on so much water that the gunnels were barely above the water. There was not time to bail out the water the next of rapids and so our guide told my son to jump out of the boat!

Daniel jumped into the frigid waters. With the guide now floating again, it was able to successfully negotiate the final section of the rapids and with the of other Scouts we were able to paddle it to shore and bail it out. In the we practiced our Scout rapid water rescue skills to safety pull Daniel onto shore. He had only been in the water for about 5 minutes; but was visibly shaking from hypothermia. We got some warm clothes on him, and paddled to shore where we set up camp for the evening and gave thanks to our guide and the rescue team.

Going with the now of life is a lot like this river Like the river, there will be turbulent and chaotic times in our life where we may be forced to jump out of the boat. Your "rapids" may be a sudden and unexpected illness and the current may so strong that you are notable to swim to shore alone. In those moments we need to have a dependable guide who can offer guidance and direction. If we follow the instruction of our guide and we stay close enough to our friends and trust them, they will be there to help rescue us. If you or some- one you know is facing a life limiting illness and going through one of rapids please give Hospice of the Valleys a call at 951-200-7800, we are here to help.

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