Why I’m doing a Hospice fundraiser this Sunday…

This Sunday is Pop Up Sunday in the parking lot of Ornamentea at 509 N. West Street, downtown Raleigh.

I’m doing an Indigo & Shibori/tie-dye demo that you can take home a piece of with you!!

Since I picked Hospice of Wake County for the charity to raise funds for… I thought I would share my reasons why.

Why I am raising money for Hospice of Wake County…

My brother and I grew up with both parents physically handicapped.  Mom contracted Polio from the vaccine I got as an infant… the doctor forgot to vaccinate her.  Dad developed Multiple Sclerosis a few years after that.

You might think this would be a depressing situation… after all, they’d met while skiing in Vermont. But they couldn’t have been a more cheery, optimistic couple!!   They were the best team, and never felt sorry for themselves.  They just showed non-stop love for each other and me and my brother.  I know this is how my Dad lived such a long time – a remarkable 30+ years – with MS.

In late 2005, after some health set-backs, Mom and Dad looked into Hospice of Wake County to help them out.  The Hospice nurses came to their house frequently for several months.  They were always a joy to see, and we all felt their love and sincerity.  At one point, their team had gotten a wound doctor to finally heal a bed sore Dad had suffered with for several years.  He felt so much better – seemed even to be bouncing back so much that he was afraid he was no longer eligible for Hospice’s services any more!

Well, they stuck with him, and eased the decade-long tremendous pain he’d had (but never admitted to us until then), and he eventually died peacefully in his sleep one night.

Having Dad at home was absolutely critical to my parents’ happiness.

Four years later, my Mom passed away.  The loss of both parents is unbelievably harder than the first.  I thought I was strong and rational enough to get through, but finally realized I needed help and gave the Hospice Grief Counselor a call.  He listened so patiently and to every single word I said.  This guy knew his “stuff”!! He was so professional and skilled; he was able to relate to me so effectively.  He helped me validate my feelings and manage them as a survivor of people I love and miss so much.

I am forever grateful to Hospice of Wake County for making the hardest times in my life survivable, and to feel more at peace.

Kim

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