Dear Hopice Friend, My wonderful husband Bob died at St. Joseph’s Hospice on November 1st last year. Our family will be forever grateful for the incredible care he received from the amazing staff and volunteers. We were treated with great care and compassion during this very difficult and emotional time, it was the finest care we could have hoped for and we will never be able to thank St. Joseph’s Hospice for all they did for our family. Bob was only 36 when he was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was a huge shock for our young family, we had just celebrated the birth of our third child and Bob was an active local high school teacher and football coach. He led a very busy life, chasing around our three small children, coaching and taking students on trips abroad, we could never have imagined him becoming ill. Bob underwent chemotherapy, surgeries, and radiation but cancer spread to his stomach, liver, and lungs. After fighting the disease for more than three years, we got the worst news imaginable - there was nothing morethat could be done. With those words, ourworld came crashing down. Our children would grow up without a father. I would lose my best friend and husband. His family would no longer have a son, brother, and uncle. Bob was living with terminal cancer. Our family came into St. Joseph’s Hospice and we were blown away by the compassionate care and how well our whole family was treated. From our young children to our extended family to Bob’s high school football team, everyone was welcome to spend quality time during Bob’s final days. Making Hospice their home, our three children felt comfortable and safe. They would run between Bob’s room and the bistro as we prepared and enjoyed our daily family dinners, made art to decorate Bob’s room, and watched TV in the living area of the spacious suite. In his final days and weeks, St. Joseph’s Hospice gave us the chance to be a family. There is no other place we would have wanted to be. Bob was able to communicate his needs and wishes and the expert staff worked together to uphold his dignity and independence as a proud father and husband. We were able to spend date nights together cuddled up on the bed while our family took care of the kids and we celebrated our anniversary over Thanksgiving, complete with a hot shave and haircut for Bob while we turned the Hospice living room into a family holiday party. These memories and many more will be cherished by our kids and our families for years to come. This is why I am writing to you today. As the need for hospice care continues to rise, the ability of St. Joseph’s Hospice to provide support at no cost for families like ours, relies upon the generosity of community members like you. You can help St. Joseph’s Hospice provide a haven where those living with a terminal illness and their family, experience compassion, hope, and healing by contributing to the Celebrate a Life: Memory Star Campaign. Here’s what your gift can provide:
At St. Joseph’s Hospice, the gifts aren’t beneath the Christmas tree – they’re on it. Your donation is necessary for helping raise the more than $1.3 million needed each year for Hospice to offer care and support at no cost to families, like mine, in our community. You’ll find your own Memory Star included in this letter for you to honour the memory of a loved one. When you send it back with a donation to St. Joseph’s Hospice, it will be displayed in the hospice home throughout the holidays and into the New Year, because our memories continue to shine, like the beautiful Memory Stars. I hope you will join my family in the Celebrate a Life: Memory Star Campaign as we fill St. Joseph’s Hospice with hope and healing by making a donation today. With gratitude,
Emily Oliver Remembering loving husband and father, Bob Jez Click here to go back to the main page. |