Our friend Kip Kirby visited Alive Hospice this month to present a donation in memory of her husband, Mr. Todd Cerney. During her visit she read the following letter, which we share with permission. In January of this year, Mr. Cerney kicked off the 18th annual Alive at The Bluebird concert series, a benefit for Alive Hospice. We’ll be forever grateful to Mr. Cerney and his family for their support. Alive Hospice was deeply honored to provide care and support during Mr. Cerney’s illness.

And unfortunately it wasn’t. When my husband, songwriter Todd Cerney, was given the shattering diagnosis of Stage IV melanoma in November of 2010, we knew from the beginning that his last days would be with you. When that time came – far sooner than any of his doctors predicted – we brought Todd to The Residence with a sense of peace, knowing he would receive the finest care and love possible.

There are no words for me to express my admiration, awe and affection for the staff of Alive Hospice. I stand in awe at the work you do and the lives you touch. You cannot know (yet hopefully you do) how each tiny act you perform, each smile you bestow, each kind word you offer touches your patients and their families. There were many visitors who came to see Todd and me and his parents, Chuck and Phyllis Cerney, while he was with you, and I know how deeply affected they all were by what they saw at The Residence.

Todd could not have had better care anywhere else in the world. I was comforted then and will always be that he spent his last days in the best and most capable, loving hands possible. Who can ask for more than that?

Thank you forever for what you do.

Very best regards,

Kip Kirby

Kip Kirby stopped by this month to present a donation to Alive Hospice in memory of her husband, Mr. Todd Cerney. Pictured, left to right: Todd Cerney’s mother, Mrs. Phyllis Cerney; Alive Hospice Vice President of Community Development Pam Brown; Kip Kirby;  and Mr. Cerney’s father, Dr. Chuck Cerney. Kip is pictured holding the above letter, which we’re sharing with her permission.

Today, artisan Jane Ann Driscoll of Canterbury Pottery shares what goes into creating Alive Hospice’s 2011 holiday ornament. Each ornament is hand-made, and the intricate design is a reminder that Alive Hospice provides care anywhere a patient calls home. Each purchase helps make that care available to all who need it, regardless of insurance coverage status or ability to pay.

How long have you made porcelain ornaments? 

I have been making the ornaments for about 9 years. I started out using my white stoneware clay that I use for bigger wheel-thrown pieces and quickly realized it was too rough and not white enough for my brand of perfectionism so I moved on to porcelain.  I used a pretty good porcelain until last year when I found the amazing pure white porcelain I am using now. The main ingredient is mined in England and I just love how much whiter and brighter it turns out.

How long does it take to complete each ornament?

The Alive Hospice ornaments take right at 3 hours to carve and sand and then another 6 hours to fire in the kiln.

What’s involved in creating the ornaments?

I start with a drawing of the design, then make a template out of plastic sheeting by cutting out the design (the plastic holds up better than a paper template if I have to make multiple ornaments). I have a contraption called a slab roller where I roll out a huge slab of wet porcelain the correct thickness for the ornament. After it dries a bit I cut out the outside circle for the ornament.

Then I use the needle tool (the equivalent of a sewing needle with a small wooden dowel used as the handle) to carefully care out the intricate designs. After carving, the edges are still rough so I use the needle tool to bevel all the edges of every cut. And then, to make them even smoother, I use a small paint brush dipped in water and smooth out the edges completely. 

After about a day the ornament is dry and I can use a very fine sanding sponge to sand the whole piece and all the edges even more. The sanding takes about an hour for each ornament because I am such a perfectionist and want the piece to be as smooth as possible. This is done outside with the use of a very good respirator. Once I get enough ornaments made (about 40) to fill my kiln, I fire it for about 6 hours until it reaches around 2,100 or so degrees.

What is your hope for every piece you create?

My only goal when I create a piece is to make it the best I possibly can, as perfect as possible in hopes that it brings joy to those that own them. I love to watch the clay go from one thing to another, to see it change and grow.

What do you think about as you make these keepsakes? 

I spend a lot of time thinking about the people who will receive the pieces, whether they are people that have been touched by the use of the hospice services themselves and have grieved and feel the need to give back to the organization that helped them. Or just people who are kind-hearted and generous and want to help others in a time when they need it the most.

My hope would be that people who order the ornaments would feel joy and comfort. I believe in good things coming back two-fold to those that give to others so I believe those who give to Alive Hospice will in some aspect of their lives receive something they need at just the right time in their lives.

I pray for all those touched by hospice as I’m working and hope that somehow in the spiritual realm of life some of that gets caught up in the work and finds its way to the donors. I hope somehow the donors are touched, inspired, and receive goodness back for their good deeds.

I honestly and truly try to send the love that I use in creating the work along with each piece.

To order a 2011 Alive Hospice holiday ornament, click here.

Today, the Alive Hospice Blog travels to South Africa with this reflection by Karen Nash, director of Alive Grief Support Services. Karen visited Alive Hospice’s South African sister hospice in 2003. Alive Hospice’s annual All Things Beaded and Beyond sale is tomorrow, December 2, and proceeds will benefit hospice care in South Africa. By shopping at this sale, Middle Tennesseans can help make a difference half a world away!

Karen Nash

I had never thought about going to South Africa like so many other people had. They were drawn there by the thrill of being on safari, seeing the astounding wildlife in Kruger National Park, shopping at Victoria Street Market in Durban (a city boasting the largest Indian population outside of India), or viewing the unsurpassed vistas atop Table Mountain which looks out on Cape Town, one of the most beautiful cities in all the world. Those things did not beckon to me like the castles that dot the Rhine in Germany, the breathtaking peaks of the Swiss Alps, the grand palaces in Austria, or the majestic cathedrals throughout all of Europe.

Yet, I did go to South Africa 8 years ago in August 2003 when Alive Hospice offered me the chance to visit Hospice in the West, our sister hospice (recently renamed Hospice West Gauteng. I was part of a national delegation of 25 hospice professionals who traveled as a group through South Africa for about 10 days seeing the sites and many different hospices. We then broke off to visit each of our partner hospices for a week before gathering to process our experiences and return home. While there, I saw such amazing personal and collective strength from Hospice in the West staff and their patients. Much like here, I visited patients living in a variety of social settings, but in South Africa resources are slim and the challenges are vast.

What I remember most is the grace and spirit of the people and the way South Africa now beckons to me more than any other place I have ever been. I remember my visits with patients in the township areas and the efforts the hospice made to provide individual and group services to them. The townships are large communities where blacks have historically been delegated to live, much like Native American reservations here in our country.

I remember the way the nurses (called “sisters” in South Africa) would rotate the use of one company car the hospice had been able to buy from grant money and I remember how the other “sisters” would borrow or use their own vehicles and pay for their own gas on the days they did not get to use the company car. This was a great financial sacrifice for many of them, beyond what we can imagine.

I remember the old van which had been donated years before and was frequently driven by a volunteer to take a team nurses to see various patients in the township. This was the same van that picked up patients and their families once a week to bring them together for group interaction and a meal with other patients & families who did have transportation.

Age, gender, race, ethnicity, or financial status had no bearing there. I remember a sea of people at the groups – young and old, black and white, well-to-do and poor — all gathered together in the common bond that forms when facing cancer and HIV.

I remember so vividly the significant hardships I observed. As if their diseases weren’t hardship enough, many people in South Africa live in poverty with no electricity or running water.

I remember a patient who lived in a subsidized apartment and relied on the hospice to provide pre-packaged food that amounted to about 5 meals — probably the most food the patient would get from week to week.

Some bear hardships of a different kind: separation from dear family members, but holding out hope that they’ll be reunited.

Eight years later I also remember the hospitality they showed me. I’ll never forget giving candy to the children I encountered, a small way to show them someone they had never met cared about them, too. I anticipated the joy on their faces when I gave it to them. What I didn’t expect was being handed a piece of the candy I gave out because a child thought I should have some, too. I hoped to meet some of the extraordinary people who care for each other under such difficult circumstances, but I didn’t foresee the gratitude they expressed for my visit or the humility I would feel as I was given a homemade jar of fruit.

I remember the scores of children I met in the township areas and my joy being with them in all their energy and youthful exuberance, despite most of them having lost one or both parents to HIV. I remember how touched I was when one of the children gave me a beaded necklace he had made for me of the flag of South Africa.

I treasure this necklace and will be wearing it on December 2 at All Things Beaded and Beyond, our fundraiser for Hospice West Gauteng. I hope I’ll see you there, too.

Karen Nash is director of Alive Grief Support Services, the bereavement support program of Alive Hospice.

Elizabeth Traugott

Since I was little I had always wanted to go to Africa. Being a nurse made that possible. In February 2010 I finally got the opportunity to go on a medical trip to Sudan.

One thing that stands out most to me is how welcoming the people were. As soon as we landed in the village we were surrounded by adults and children. They were so excited to see us and know they might have the opportunity to see physicians and nurses. The people we met showed such strength and determination to care for the village that I realized how fortunate I was to be able to go to the doctor any time I had a sniffle.

This time of year is a time of giving. This week, we have an opportunity to help out Alive Hospice’s sister hospice organization in another African nation, South Africa, with Alive Hospice’s annual All Things Beaded and Beyond sale.

This Friday, December 2nd from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., come see (and buy!) the beautiful crafts that have been created to help out Hospice West Gauteng. The sale is at Alive Hospice’s administrative offices at 1718 Patterson St. in Nashville. Call 327-1085 for more information.

Elizabeth Traugott is an Alive Hospice nurse.

Just in time for the holidays, Alive Hospice’s annual craft sale is coming back on Friday, Dec. 2. The All Things Beaded and Beyond sale will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Alive Hospice’s administrative offices at 1718 Patterson St. (near downtown Nashville.) Purchases will benefit Hospice West Gauteng, Alive Hospice’s sister organization in South Africa.

Merchandise will include hand-crafted items provided by Alive Hospice employees, volunteers and community artisans. Items vary from year to year, but the sale typically features jewelry, original art, photography, greeting cards, seasonal items and much more.

For more information, call 615-327-1085. Please join us! 

Pictured: Hand-made jewelry by Alive Hospice Social Worker Alyson Garvey.

Today on the Alive Hospice Blog, we continue with part 2 of our conversation with J.W. Frye about his 7,500-mile ride for hospice care. Alive Hospice will welcome J.W. Frye on April 15 at 1:30 p.m. Join us! We’ll gather at Alive Hospice Residence Nashville, 1710 Patterson St.

Alive Hospice: You’re 27 28. What would you say to people who might be surprised that someone 27 28 years old is doing all of this for hospice?

J.W. Frye: How I personally learned how to work through, process, grow and deepen my experience with life was through hospice care.

AH: Do you have friends or family who are saying, “Are you crazy?”

J.W.: Not just friends and family, pretty much everyone I meet on a daily basis.

AH: What do you say to them?

J.W.: I say, “Well, yeah, you’re right. Just because I’m crazy doesn’t mean I don’t have common sense. I know when something sounds ridiculous.” (Laughs.) But that’s the whole point. A journey of this magnitude [reminds] many people the magnitude of the journey of life, and how exciting and scary and rewarding and all of those things it can be. The wonder and excitement of living is what unites us. In some ways, people can confuse fear of death excitement of living. When someone has deep respect and understanding of mortality, I think that really frees you up to get out there and live.

My experiences with the passing and mortality of my parents really instilled in me the vision that I have today, and what is really important. And what’s really important to me are my relationships with people and how I can be of service to them. I also just straight-up love adventure and excitement. I feel like this ride is an opportunity to incorporate all of those things.

AH: Gran Fondo, the well-known Nashville cycle shop, very generously provided some gear and equipment for your use on the ride. What did you think of that?

J.W.: That was one of the very special things that has happened along the way. They gave me long- and short-sleeve jerseys, riding shorts, vests, socks, gloves … anything you can imagine. It was really, really cool. Those are really incredible people, and the quality of their bikes and apparel is unbelievable. They had known me all of about 8 or 9 minutes when the offer was made. They just started filling bags with stuff.

AH: What do you want people in Middle Tennessee to know as you come through?

J.W.: I want Middle Tennessee to realize the jewel it has. My message to people in Middle Tennessee would be you have something very, very special in Alive Hospice. Use it! Use this service. It’s the gold-standard of nonprofit care not just for patients, but for patients’ families.

You don’t have to spend your very last day [in hospice]. You can spend the most spectacular 6-month journey of your life in the caring presence of Alive Hospice. People they (Alive Hospice caregivers) interact with are going to remember every moment of that interaction for the rest of their lives. I thank them very much for all that they do.

AH: Is there something you would tell people who want to do something for hospice who can’t take a 6-month bike ride?

J.W.: Really the best way: Go to your local nonprofit hospice and say, “Hey, is there anything I can do to help?” To look at something as small-scale or large-scale is the first step in cheating yourself. It’s really about being of service in each little individual way. You can go out and be of service by smiling. That’s the change in the world that changes people’s lives every day.

That’s what hospice does. They go into a situation without preconceived notions. People think, “How can you go into a place knowing someone is going to die?” Well, because you go into a situation saying, “How can I bring life, love, peace and help into whatever situation I’m in today?” It’s a process of life, and it deserves just as much celebration, honor and respect as any other one. To make the biggest difference in your community, open yourself to doing it. Just become willing. All that I did and all that I’m continuing to do is keeping myself open to do whatever it takes that day to make the world a little better. That’s what I do, and I suggest that other people do the same.

If you’re in Middle Tennessee and would like to volunteer with Alive Hospice, click here for more information. If you’d like to donate to Alive Hospice online, click here.

To read part 1 of this conversation, click here. For more information about J.W. Frye, visit www.onebikeonecause.org.

The Alive at The Bluebird concert series is back for its 18th year! This concert series will help unsung heroes in Middle Tennessee: people facing the end of life, and their families who love them.

More than 70 artists are participating again this year, people who have written songs recorded by some of the biggest names in country music! Together with The Bluebird Cafe, they’ll donate concert proceeds to help Alive Hospice provide hospice care and grief support services for ALL who need them, regardless of insurance status and ability to pay.

Who are YOU coming to see at The Bluebird?

Pam Brown

Many donors choose December 31 as a day to make year-end gifts to their favorite charities. After all, it’s the last day of the year to make tax-deductible donations. But this year, with the New Year’s Day holiday falling on a Saturday, many businesses will be closed on Friday, December 31. Closed businesses mean donors will be away from their computers and hopefully off doing fun holiday stuff with friends and family (football in front of the TV, anyone?).

With that in mind, have you considered making your year-end donations one day earlier? I have. In fact, I made my year-end donation to Alive Hospice on Monday so that I know I’ve taken care of this important aspect of my personal philanthropy.

While Alive Hospice is a 24/7 operation, the administrative office will be closed on Friday, December 31. But those of you who want to make donations on the last day of the year can visit https://secure.netsolhost.com/alivehospice.org/donations-give.php to donate via our website. With your support, you’ll help ensure that everyone in need of the comfort and support Alive Hospice provides can receive it, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.

If you have questions about your gift, feel free to e-mail me at pbrown@alivehospice.org or call me at 615-642-9489. I’ll check e-mail and voicemail throughout the day on New Year’s Eve. And I’ll be happy to chat!

Happy New Year!

Pam Brown is Alive Hospice’s vice president for community development.