Hospice Volunteers and TV: Dependable Resources for Patients

For three years, I have been associated with a corps of certified hospice volunteers who work independently but cooperatively with area hospitals and agencies. It is well known that the hospice corps works essentially with the terminally ill. Our goal is to help the patient live his or her life to the fullest by maintaining control of their lives and offering support to their family. The tasks are varied as the families we meet, each one having a unique personality and lifestyle.

Invariably, when I am introduced as a hospice volunteer I am greeted as follows: "You must be a special person" or "I never could do what you do, but I am glad there are people like you."

How does one respond to remarks such as these? Somehow, a simple "Thank You" seems to indicate your acceptance of being a "Special Person" and to say "Oh, it's no big deal" depreciates the work you do and the wonderful people with whom you associate. However, hospice volunteers do not see themselves as "volunteers."

Here is a hypothetical interview:

Q: Have you ever shopped for a neighbor who was ill and confined to bed?

A: Why of course, that's not anything more than neighborliness.

Q: If a friend was sick, would you share some homemade soup and
perhaps visit and keep them company?

A: Well sure, but that's not the same as hospice.

Q: If a friend or family member was upset by a personal tragedy and
needed someone to talk to - would you lend a sympathetic ear?

A: Don't be ridiculous: Yes, yes, yes to all of the questions.
But I don't think I could do what you do.

Think about it my friends, most of us do some kind of hospice work. Every day you go out of your way to help someone in need, you are doing God's work. Your friends and neighbors may not be terminally ill and you may not be a certified hospice volunteer; however, you are certainly God's volunteer. Possibly you help out within your community or family. I have had the opportunity to meet people outside my immediate area, families with devastating problems who in turn become my new friends and extended family.

Titles are unimportant. You may call yourself a neighbor, a good Samaritan, or a volunteer. The significant fact is that we are all members of a worldwide organization, humankind, and we all utilize our God given talents to aid our brothers.

There is no way of measuring the benefits I derive from working as a hospice volunteer, nor of putting my feelings into words. I read somewhere that man's greatest gift is to fill a need, unnoticed. How true!
In doing so, we are all special!