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Hospice Austin’s Blog
Two Lives, Transformed
The Austin-American Statesman’s Season for Caring campaign has made a profound difference in the lives of our past two recipients.
As you may remember, our 48-year-old ALS patient Marcelo Gracia and his son, Gael, were featured in the Austin American-Statesman’s Season for Caring campaign in December.
Loving Spirits
Stacy Pruitt became a certified nurse aide after witnessing the subpar care her grandmother received from a nursing home in her small town. Suzanne Armistead became a CNA after seeing the excellent care her brother received. Andrew Stratman became a CNA after visiting his grandmother in a nursing home several times a day for about a year. “It was never a chore for me to help her,” he said. “I felt privileged to do it. It made me realize I have an aptitude.”
A Very Special Patient
She was sitting propped up in bed in one of the sun-filled corner rooms at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. I saw that she had thick, dark hair with a few streaks of silver through it, noticeable because so often our patients have little or no hair after undergoing chemotherapy.
The Beauty and the Mystery
Hospice Austin social workers are on the emotional front lines for patients and families coming to the end of life’s journey. They help families heal fractured relationships, plan funerals, access social support services, normalize symptoms, and give voice to their sadness and fear. They provide a calming presence by holding space and offering support for the social and emotional issues that arise during this agonizing time. They help patients and families build on their own emotional strength.
Patients who need all the help they can get.
Every month or so, I am able to tell someone who is sick, dying, can’t work, and has no insurance that they now have comprehensive care completely free to them through Hospice Austin.
Why I volunteer at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House
I volunteer at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House because of the generosity and compassion that transcends throughout the building with patient care, professional friendly staff and the great family feeling of love to all that enters the building (young or old). I have seen babies in cribs there.
My most memorable story was the first year I volunteered on Thanksgiving Day at Christopher House and witnessed for myself the love and joy that was given through food and fellowship to the patients and their families.
Celebrating 20 Years of In-patient Care
When Hospice Austin Executive Director Marjorie Mulanax toured Christopher House in 1993 after it opened as a small AIDS hospital, she was dazzled. “Oh my gosh,” she remembers thinking, “They’ve done what we need to do!” Hospice Austin needed an in-patient facility, but Marjorie didn’t see how it would be financially possible.
Thank you for a wonderful 2017!
Plain and simple, we could not provide the services we do without the support of the Central Texas community. In 2017, thanks to you: ♥ Hospice Austin helped a total of 2,081 patients live their final months with comfort, dignity, and peace, providing more than...
Families Helping Families
Beth, whose mother had been cared for on our service, decided that she and her family would like to help others for Christmas. We knew just the family.
A Season for Caring
Gael Gracia used to have to leave his father, who has ALS, alone for over 8 hours at a stretch when he went to work. That all changed when the family was accepted into the Austin American-Statesman’s Season for Caring program.
