With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many of us will show affection for those who mean the most to us. Thanks to the volunteers at BeyondFaith Hospice, those nearing the last days of their lives are reminded how special they are on a daily basis.
BeyondFaith Hospice bills itself as a nurse-owned, spiritually-led organization that places an emphasis on compassion and comfort when it comes to providing hospice care to its patients at this stage of life. The organization believes in a sincere and intimate relationship between the hospice team, the patient and the family members.
We talked to several volunteers who consistently demonstrate the true heart of a volunteer and discussed their thoughts on accepting such a challenging, yet rewarding. role at the most difficult points in people’s lives.
Gary Gustin, 74, Weatherford
Tell me about your own involvement in BeyondFaith Hospice and how you got started. (Gustin is a veteran.)
In 2013, I was living in Denver. I heard about a hospice training group that was associated with visiting veterans in hospice. Their theme was no soldier should ever die alone. After I trained with them, I visited veterans in hospice for Agape Hospice for four years. I visited about 20 different veterans in those four years. In December 2021, I moved to Weatherford, Texas to be near my grandchildren.
In the summer of 2023, I was listening to the radio and heard an ad for BeyondFaith Hospice. I called them and asked if they had people I could visit in hospice. They said yes, very much so. I started visiting for them in September of 2023. I had called a couple of nursing homes in Weatherford prior to BeyondFaith and they told me that they did not have a visiting program.
What was it that initially drew you to hospice work?
I originally had heard someone else talk about visiting and I got excited about it and have loved doing it ever since. It is very fulfilling. I get as much or more out of it than the person whom I am visiting.
You have to understand that they are usually in a room with a TV and not much else. They are usually in a wheelchair or in bed most of the time because of their health. Even when they have family who visit, they appreciate someone new to come and visit with them especially if I can relate to them about being in the military.
Over 95 percent of the men I have visited were veterans. They will hardly remember my name from week to week, but they surely remember your face. I can always get a big smile on their face when I can bring them their favorite candy bar. I think about someday maybe I will be in the same place, and how I would like it if I could have people come to visit me. If I feel that things are not going my way, all I have to do is visit and it brings me back to reality. It puts a smile on my face and makes me feel much better.
Teddy Pina, 78, Willow Park
I understand that you crochet and make stockings for your hospice clients. Why did you decide to do that and how they did react to them?
My grandmere (grandmother) taught me to crochet the summer I was 10. One of my cousins and I were spending a week with her. I was very fascinated watching her make doilies from a ball of string and asked her to show me how. She gave me a piece of string about 3 feet long and her size 7 steel hook. She showed me how to make a beginning chain. It took me the whole week to get all my stitches equal in size. Making the stockings for the patients was a personal challenge for me. I have never made that many of the same thing. I usually crochet blankets and can change the pattern for each one.
What do you find the most rewarding about your volunteer work with BeyondFaith?
The most rewarding thing about my work is knowing I’m doing something for someone. Even though my grandmere showed me how when I was young, I didn’t continue at that time. I’ve tried many crafts but have always come back to crocheting. I look at it as a gift from God that I can pass along to others.
Karen Shaul, 67, Springtown
What is it like to work with BeyondFaith, and what are some of the challenges you face doing this type of work?
I absolutely consider it a privilege and an honor to work with Beyond-Faith Hospice. They are very passionate about walking the journey with their patients and their families, giving quality care and treating their clients as family. I visit a client that is home but in hospice care. I visit with her, allowing her partner to have some free time to get things done around the house and that allows him to know she is being looked after.
It’s an awesome relationship when somebody knows you truly care about them, and they look forward to seeing you come every other week. I have enjoyed taking my dog, Gus, to the facilities and assisted livings all around Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Springtown and Azle.
As far as I’m concerned, I really don’t face any challenges with this work other than occasionally finding out someone has passed away. But it’s an awesome feeling knowing that you have been a part of their life and made it brighter while they were still here on earth.
What role does Gus play when you visit clients?
Gus is a seven-year-old boxer. He loves going to the facilities, and we walk around and let people pet him. He gives many people comfort as many miss their pets that may be at home or have passed away. It’s so fun to see the expression on their face as their eyes light up when they see the dog walking down the hall or into their room.
Dorothy Jones, 76, Willow Park
Discuss the paintings you do for patients and why you chose to contribute in this way.
Janice Hayes asked if I would like to volunteer, and that was something I needed to do. So I said that would be wonderful. She said, “Oh you can paint?” and I said, “I can paint houses. I don’t know about pictures,” and she said, “Well, just try. I know you can do it.” Well, I got some canvas and some paint and there ya are! I am a Christian first, born into the greatest state - Texas. So when you join those two passions you get me. Some of these folks are Christians, so I just want them to have peace when they see my work. There are folks, no matter their age, who don’t know God is their Father, so my prayer is that those folks look at my painting and see Jesus and accept Him as their Savior before it’s too late.
Do you have any especially memorable stories that stand out about a patient’s reaction to a painting or just in general?
One of my friends was 97 years of age and she was such a precious lady. We would go to listen to Don Webster sing songs in an assisted living establishment. She would sing every word of every song as she was knitting. If it was just she and I, she was always humming. She would share stories of her work life and things she enjoyed doing. She was such a fascinating lady.
In all, BeyondFaith Hospice has seven volunteers, including volunteer coordinator Janice Hayes, Susann Davis, Len Zak, Scott Nast and Genet Kleppinger.
Volunteers provide a variety of tasks, including patient care, clerical/administrative, professional, veteran services, patient visits and prayer, bereavement services, meal prepping and lawn care services. If you’d like to join them, call 1-800-HOSPICE.
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