I want to share a story from Celia’s House, because it shows what our community makes possible together. Our fall campaign closes Oct. 31, nine days from now, and gifts to General Operating or the Endowment will count toward it. Give Today
Dr. John Forsyth is a retired cardiologist who began practicing in the Rogue Valley in 1970. He is an honorary board member of Southern Oregon Friends of Hospice and volunteered at Celia’s House for years. He told me about one night there.
A woman arrived late. Her big family had cared for her until they couldn’t. John introduced himself and asked what their grandmother would want most at that moment. No one knew. The chef at the time asked the woman herself, but she could no longer speak, so her granddaughter answered for her. Her grandmother loved tapioca.
The chef brought a bowl. John held it under her nose so she could smell it, and she opened her eyes. He fed her a little, and then she fed herself. She looked around the room and, although she had stopped speaking, she told each person there a story about what mattered most about them or a special time they had shared. She died two hours later.
Her family told John afterward that in all their years as a big, close-knit family, they had never experienced anything so special.
John says it comes down to this: what we do, what we feel, and why we do it matters. At Celia’s House, we ask what matters most to each person, and then we do it. Your gift helps us keep doing that.
With gratitude,
Kelly J. Gonzales
Development Director
Southern Oregon Friends of Hospice