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Volunteer hopes to ease kids' death, dying concerns
By Kim Hone-McMahan
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Nov 14, 2008
It's certainly not a typical school field trip. There are no zoo animals to stare at, no physics problem to solve. Instead, this excursion is a lesson in life.
Mary Beth Palmer is a retired teacher who knows kids can be curious, even if they hesitate to ask about certain subjects — particularly when it comes to death and dying.
Palmer's husband, Ken, died in 2001 from cancer. Her hospice experience was so extraordinary that she wanted to share it with others. So, as a volunteer at the Hospice & Palliative Care of Visiting Nurse Service Justin T. Rogers Care Center in Copley Township, she's reaching out to kids in an effort to dispel myths about hospice.
Sometimes she goes to schools to speak to students; other times, they come to her at the Care Center.
''We are all on a journey. You are middle school students who are on a journey in which people are helping you. People like teachers and coaches,'' she told a group of eighth-graders from Copley-Fairlawn Middle School who recently visited the center. ''People who are in hospice are on a journey, too. They are on an end-of-life journey. And they . . . need people to help them.''
Though it's the winter days of their lives, patients still have daily dreams, hopes and wishes. They fantasize about things like
going to a better place, hope their grandchildren will visit and wish that the sun will shine on this, one of their final days.
The 13- and 14-year-olds in the school's community service class listened intently. Though this was the first visit for most of them to the facility, they've been involved with the center by baking goodies for residents and creating favors to place on patients' trays.
Not everyone who comes to the center is facing immediate death. Sometimes an ailing patient's condition may improve and he is discharged from hospice, nurse supervisor Jodi Wagner explained to the class.
While the hospice staff and volunteers help patients enjoy their last days, they also assist families in accepting the situation and comfort them in their grief.
Everyone dies, and a little education can help ease any uneasiness, especially for children who don't always ask questions.
If you are interested in bringing a group of youngsters to the Care Center, or having Palmer visit your school or club, call Terri DeGeorge at 330-665-1455.
Kim Hone-McMahan's Sketches are short tales you can read before finishing your first cup of coffee. Know of a behind-the-scenes person or unheralded happening, particularly as it pertains to kids or teens? Call 330-996-3742 or write kmcmahan@thebeaconjournal.com.
It's certainly not a typical school field trip. There are no zoo animals to stare at, no physics problem to solve. Instead, this excursion is a lesson in life.
Mary Beth Palmer is a retired teacher who knows kids can be curious, even if they hesitate to ask about certain subjects — particularly when it comes to death and dying.
Palmer's husband, Ken, died in 2001 from cancer. Her hospice experience was so extraordinary that she wanted to share it with others. So, as a volunteer at the Hospice & Palliative Care of Visiting Nurse Service Justin T. Rogers Care Center in Copley Township, she's reaching out to kids in an effort to dispel myths about hospice.
Sometimes she goes to schools to speak to students; other times, they come to her at the Care Center.
''We are all on a journey. You are middle school students who are on a journey in which people are helping you. People like teachers and coaches,'' she told a group of eighth-graders from Copley-Fairlawn Middle School who recently visited the center. ''People who are in hospice are on a journey, too. They are on an end-of-life journey. And they . . . need people to help them.''
Though it's the winter days of their lives, patients still have daily dreams, hopes and wishes. They fantasize about things like
going to a better place, hope their grandchildren will visit and wish that the sun will shine on this, one of their final days.
The 13- and 14-year-olds in the school's community service class listened intently. Though this was the first visit for most of them to the facility, they've been involved with the center by baking goodies for residents and creating favors to place on patients' trays.
Not everyone who comes to the center is facing immediate death. Sometimes an ailing patient's condition may improve and he is discharged from hospice, nurse supervisor Jodi Wagner explained to the class.
While the hospice staff and volunteers help patients enjoy their last days, they also assist families in accepting the situation and comfort them in their grief.
Everyone dies, and a little education can help ease any uneasiness, especially for children who don't always ask questions.
If you are interested in bringing a group of youngsters to the Care Center, or having Palmer visit your school or club, call Terri DeGeorge at 330-665-1455.
Kim Hone-McMahan's Sketches are short tales you can read before finishing your first cup of coffee. Know of a behind-the-scenes person or unheralded happening, particularly as it pertains to kids or teens? Call 330-996-3742 or write kmcmahan@thebeaconjournal.com.
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