by Rachel Stackhouse, TRU Clinical Educator
There is only one area of healthcare where governing body regulations require every organization to have volunteers who cover at least 5% of the total clinical care hours; and that one specialty is hospice. TRU Community Care has been blessed with an incredible volunteer services department. From our faithful administrative support volunteers who are in the office every week, to the companion volunteers who travel far and wide to our patients in their homes, and the volunteers who run the TRU Thrift Shop. Altogether TRU is currently bolstered by 365 volunteers, providing 11.7% of the total hours of care given, which is double the required amount. Countless stories could be told of this generous crew, but one is too good to go untold. Often, we tend to think of the impact volunteers have on a patient, but this story is not that. This story is about how one of our patients rocked the volunteer’s world and a salute to the various stories our volunteers carry with them.
Meet Drew, a gentle and powerful young woman, who is also currently a nursing student completing her senior practicum here, at TRU Community Care. Drew’s journey with TRU began in the fall of 2020 as a volunteer. Earlier that year Drew had become a trained end-of-life doula. This specialty practices non-medical, holistic death care that assists the dying person and their family in navigating through the physical, emotional, spiritual, and practical aspects of the dying journey.
When Drew completed her doula training, she says, the next natural step was volunteering at TRU. She recalls, ” I knew about TRU since I grew up in Boulder, but I didn’t have much familiarity at the time. I just knew that it was our community’s main organization for end-of-life care, and I was excited to get involved.”
Drew’s first, and only companion assignment as a TRU volunteer was with a woman that, for the sake of confidentiality, we will call Grace. It was her only companion assignment simply because Grace’s life moved Drew to pursue a degree in nursing. Drew says, ” Nursing was not on my radar at all before this, but as I witnessed her terminal illness, I felt my own limitations and wanted to be able to do more for her. As her illness progressed, sometimes she would jokingly ask me to help with hands-on medical care, and I told her I would pursue a nursing career to gain those skills.“
During the pandemic, Drew began her assignment with Grace strictly over Zoom for about six months, and eventually as regulations allowed in the spring of 2021, was able to visit Grace in person, albeit masked and at a distance. Drew supported Grace by helping her with tasks such as getting water from Natural Grocers, a basic need that Drew was happy to meet. Drew defines this assignment as a “gorgeous friendship that was so life changing.” expressing gratitude for how incredibly lucky she was in this match. Grace became her friend and teacher, and Drew states, “Even though she’s gone, she’s always with me. She has been with me so much through all of nursing school.”
During her time with Grace, the two of them wrote out Grace’s last words of wisdom to share with the world. Drew keeps these bits of wisdom at her fingertips, and still treasures them today. Through Grace, Drew connected with others she would not have crossed paths with otherwise. Grace had been involved with an organization called Live By Living, and as Grace attended, Drew got to meet the organization’s director, Stephanie. Drew and Stephanie are good friends still, and they get together to honor Grace’s memory each year on the anniversary of her death.
As I listen to Drew recount these beginnings of her blooming career, I am humbled. What an incredible view into humanity; the beauty of one human life breathing its final breaths of inspiration into a younger life. At times, hospice work feels clinical, technical, and logistical, and we can miss these beautiful moments. When we notice them, they remind us of the power at hand. When one life ends, others can carry that person’s story forward into the world. Like rings rippling out from a drop in a lake, these volunteers ripple the deceased’s impact through the world each day.
This week we are honoring the volunteers, past and present, who offer themselves to this work. We recognize that you are the ones who carry these lives in your heart, and we are reminded that this journey is never about us. The patients that we encounter are a powerful invitation to slow down, hear their wisdom, and witness their legacy.
This May, Drew will graduate, a BSN, RN fully equipped to provide deeper support to those placed in her care. She will fulfill her word to Grace and meet the calling that usurped her own plans back in 2021. Drew, who is also a TRU nurse extern, has made a profound impact at TRU, and with plans for her to join our New Graduate Nurse Residency, her impact is certain to multiply.
I mentioned earlier that Drew treasures Grace’s final words of wisdom. So, let’s end with that – with words that ripple from Grace, through Drew, and now to you. Here are a few of the pieces of wisdom that Grace left with Drew, titled The Things I learned Sometimes Too Late.
- “Speak like you want to be heard.”
- “You have much more success in finding joy today than tomorrow.”
- “Consider your legacy of love – the greatest gift you leave behind.”
Thank you, Grace, for leaving the gift of your love with Drew, and thank you volunteers who faithfully support our patients and staff daily. This story highlights that you witness sacred moments with those to whom you’ve been assigned, and your commitment to them has the potential to touch more lives than you ever thought possible.
