My name is Candy Poole, and I would like to share my story and experiences with Hospice of Yuma.

 

My father became a patient of Hospice of Yuma through their program "We Honor Veteran's Program", and to our delight, Hospice of Yuma did a “Pinning Ceremony” honoring my father for his years of service in the Military. You would have thought my father was receiving a Medal of Honor. He was beaming with pride when he received a certificate and a beautiful patriotic quilt made by Hospice of Yuma Volunteers. The quilt was his pride and joy and would only be used on special occasions. Hospice of Yuma also came to the house on Veterans Day with a little gift and a “Thank You” for his years of service to our Country. Hospice of Yuma totally honored my father and made sure he knew how important his military service time was.

 

Our Nurse, Sofia, was always ready to answer any questions I may have had, she kept me uber-informed of what was happening and what I should expect when we were near the end stage of my father’s life. She provided the best care for my father; we were so lucky to have her as our nurse. Kent, our Chaplain visited monthly, listened to dad’s stories, and led us in prayer. Our Social worker, Tim also visited us monthly and again, listened to dad’s stories. (Dad could talk until the cows came home). Tim also checked in on my own mental health and was a ray of sunshine.

 

Hospice of Yuma also set us up with a volunteer to come and visit dad. . . . Well, Jerry could not have been more perfect. Like my father, Jerry was in the Military and every Tuesday they spent a good four hours talking about their adventures and serving our Country. You would have thought that they would run out of things to talk about, but that was not the case. Dad was in the Navy and Jerry was in the Marine Corps. Jerry became one of the family and without his friendship with my father, life would be unbearable for him. Since the outbreak of Covid, Jerry was unable to visit in person, so every Tuesday they spent the time talking on the phone. A pandemic could not come between them. Being confined to a bed unable to do anything for himself, my dad had the best attitude, and as silly as it sounds, Hospice gave him his new best friend!

 

I could not have asked for a calmer experience, and I knew that when the end came that I would face that with as much grace as possible with the help of all my hospice family