Elsinore and Elizabeth

Elsinore Basset returns to the Alive Hospice Blog this week! Pet therapy is very beneficial for hospice patients, but did you know it can make a big difference for visitors and hospice caregivers, too? Elsinore tells how (with a little help from her human companion and Alive Hospice volunteer Elizabeth Lindsey).

I spend a lot of time with staff and visitors at Alive Hospice Residence Nashville because I know it’s not easy caring for people who are dying. It can be sad, frustrating, and emotionally wearing. I feel my job is to help the caregivers relax and think about other things for a while.

So I spend a lot of time with any nurse who’s able to take a break. One of my favorite nurses gets right down on the floor with me and gives me a full-body massage. It feels really good to me, and I know it helps her unwind, too. Every so often another nurse will roughhouse and run with me, and that’s great fun!

Sometimes I’m the welcome distraction from a long watch by a bedside. Other times I’m cried on. I’m especially good at helping family members feel less tense. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across a group of family members in a huddle in the hallway, having a discussion in low, clipped voices about the person inside. Their arms are crossed, their faces unsmiling, and their bodies tight and closed off. Then they see me and invite me into their huddle. I work my way from one person to the next, asking each of them to pat me because I know that the more they pat me the better we all feel.

After a few minutes, they start smiling, their bodies relax, and sometimes they even laugh at me because, well, let’s face it — I’m a basset, and I look goofy. By the time I leave, they’ve had enough of a pleasant diversion that they can return to their discussion in a much better frame of mind. It feels really good to know that I can help ease their tension.

Occasionally I help out by babysitting children who are visiting the Residence. I nudge them to pat me, amuse them by doing tricks, and show them where the toys, games, and children’s books are kept. Some children are afraid of me, but they needn’t be. All of us pet therapy dogs are regularly tested for temperament and obedience and wouldn’t be allowed into the Residence if we weren’t friendly and well behaved.

At the end of my shift, I’m usually pretty tired. Absorbing people’s emotions can be draining, even for a dog. When I get home, I zonk out on a bed for several hours. But my job is so rewarding that I never want to stop doing it. I love getting pats and treats, being entertaining, and, most especially, having a purpose by making a positive difference in people’s lives.

Elsinore Basset is an alumna of Basset Hound Rescue of Alabama. She is about 10 years old and has worked at  Alive Hospice Residence Nashville since 2006. She lives with her humans, Elizabeth Lindsey and Ken Locke, and another basset, young Charlie, in Nashville. She enjoys dancing, singing, sunbathing, long walks in the woods, and having fun with the mail carrier. 

Have you ever thought about becoming a hospice volunteer? Do you want to know what it involves and how to get started, or maybe you’re unsure if you can do it?

Hear Alive Hospice Volunteer Coordinator Joy Fenton talk about becoming a hospice volunteer in this recent interview with Murfreesboro’s WGNS 1450 AM. She talks about her own story, which started with a dog named Winston and turned into a very meaningful time for both of them.

For more information about volunteering with Alive Hospice, and to apply online, click here. To talk with a volunteer coordinator, call 615-327-1085.

Meet Charlie! He’s a Pomeranian who visits patients and families at Alive Hospice Residence Nashville each week. Charlie and human pal Sharon Collins have been Alive Hospice volunteers for nearly 10 years. See more of Alive Hospice’s pet therapy friends here.

Have you considered volunteering with Alive Hospice? Pet therapy is only one of many kinds of volunteer opportunities at Alive Hospice. Click here for more information, or contact our Volunteer Services staff at 615-327-1085 or via e-mail.

Kayla Brandt

When we were told on the first day of class that one of the course requirements would be to volunteer at Alive Hospice, I am sure that the color of my face turned to a pale shade of green. “This must be some sort of joke,” I thought, “or an extra-extra-credit option for those students who were advanced enough in the field of death and dying who could handle this type of experience.”

Fortunately, it was not a joke or extra-credit option. Instead, it became the first of what I know will be a lifetime of experiences with patients in hospice care.

During my undergraduate career at Oberlin College, I became interested in bioethics and began taking courses offered by the religion department that fostered this interest. The experiences in death and dying that we read and spoke about in class compelled me to continue this area of study at Vanderbilt during my first semester as a student in the Divinity School.

Little did I know that the first-hand experience I would have at Alive Hospice, coupled with that of being a student in Dr. Fanning’s Death and Dying in America course (Medicine, Health, and Society 225), would add fuel to the fire that I hope to one day call a career in end-of-life care.

For class, we read literature that explored the meaning of death and how to care for the dying. Outside of class, at Alive Hospice, we learned first-hand what it meant to enter that space as an outsider with an open mind and heart, ready to simply be present with another human being. I can remember feeling extremely nervous before my first visit. One student in the class compared the feeling to “getting ready to walk into a blind date.”

Then, somehow, when you enter a room and greet the patient, you realize that you are in one of the most honest moments you can have. Sure, it might be awkward at times or even uncomfortable, for both parties. But it is honest. It is the type of experience, a type of care that cannot be taught through text books or lectures. You have entered the space of a dying person, but more than that, you have entered into a life story and you have the ability, however small or great, to make an impact.

This is the type of opportunity I was given as a student in Death and Dying in America and one that I am truly grateful was not an extra-credit option.

Kayla Brandt, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is pursuing a master’s in theological studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She will serve as a chaplain intern with Alive Hospice in the fall.

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 National Hospice Month tribute video is now available for all to see! If you know someone who wants to know more about hospice care, this is a powerful tool to use.

Alive Hospice is honored to have taken part in this project. Our sincere thanks and appreciation to the producers of this video, and to all who joined together with one voice in the name of hospice!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s at least how many words describe hospice!

What does hospice mean to you? Share it with the world! As part of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, supporters from across the nation are taking part in a special video project. It’s designed to help raise awareness about and increase access to hospice care. Above are the photos Alive Hospice submitted. We’re excited about taking part in this project, and we hope you will, too!

Will you join in with us? All you have to do is have someone take a photo of yourself holding up a sign with a word you think best describes hospice and submit it via e-mail. Deadline: November 24, Midnight Pacific Standard Time.

For more information, check out this video:

Deb Gerlica

What being Alive Hospice’s director of volunteer services means to me: Life-changing. How can I not love my position?

I get to meet the best of the best. Everyday citizens like all of us, giving of their most precious commodity: time. In hospice, everyone knows how important time is. Our Alive Hospice volunteers enthusiastically come in week after week and make calls; visit patients; run errands; and play bingo so the patients can have a little fun. They wash/style hair; give massages to our patients and families; load up their wonderful pets and visit; sew afghans, pillows, tissue holders, and prayer shawls; sit with those who have no family; work in offices… the list goes on and on.

These are everyday people like each of us, working or retired, looking for meaningful volunteer service so they can make a difference in this world. They give back to us for the blessings in their lives.

Next time you see a volunteer in your life’s travels, remember to thank them. Even just a small smile will let them know you appreciate them. Where would this world be without these unselfish people? These wonderful, Alive Hospice volunteers are doing what we all say we will do: give our time to make a difference to those around us. They take their responsibilities very seriously. They are here to help in any way they can. I feel honored and privileged to walk alongside them on their journey as volunteers.

You can be a part of Alive Hospice as a volunteer, too. We invite you to talk with us about volunteer opportunities and how you’d like to serve. Give us a call at 615-327-1085 or visit the Volunteer section of the Alive Hospice website.

Deb Gerlica is Alive Hospice’s director of volunteer services.