The two rooms are right next to each other and we enter the one on the left first, Shirley Potts leading the way. There’s something instantly likeable about her, maybe it’s her warm smile or the fact that she’s a self-described “hugger.” When she introduces me to her mom, Mary Mitchell, rather loudly (she’s hard of hearing), her mom smiles back, and so do I. Shirley shows off the clothes and jewelry box her mom had her bring from home, the rings glistening off the light when she opens the box. Her mom has always been stylish and being a hospice patient wasn’t about to stop that.  Now her rings, which sparkle off her fingers , just go with a patient gown instead. Mary’s jewelry isn’t the only thing familiar to her in the Angela Hospice Care Center though. Her son and one of Shirley’s brothers, Lawrence, is a patient in the room next door. “To have them here is a sense of relief,” Shirley said. “I know that they’re taken care of if I can’t just run down here.” It’...

At 95 some would be slowing down, but that’s not Doug Williams’ style. He might be a hospice patient but that doesn’t mean he is going to stop doing what he loves: karaoke. “I’d be lost without karaoke,” he said. “It’s definitely your thing,” laughed Mary Wolfe, one of his daughters who is with her dad six days a week. He spends four days a week at her home, which Doug helped build, and three nights at his room at Fox Run, where she stays a couple nights a week. One of her brothers stays with him the seventh day. This isn’t Doug’s first hospice stay though. He tried hospice back in January, but just kept on getting better. And he was finally discharged before going back on hospice in November. Doug (center) with two of his daughters, Mary Wolfe (left) and Nancy Ray. He sings karaoke every weekend. When he isn’t at home Doug, who has congestive heart failure, can be found at the VFW or American Legion every weekend with his family. Sometimes he sings with his brot...

On a muggy day in June, where you could almost grab the humidity by the handful, Cathy Wood did something she thought would end in tears: talk about her dad’s passing. “I was really close to my dad so I’m still struggling with this,” Cathy said as she got out notes about her experience with Angela Hospice. She didn’t want to miss a detail. If she was so nervous, why do the interview? “I feel like this is the last thing I can do for my dad…to say how good you guys were to him,” she said. Cathy, holding the letter her dad received from his We Honor Veterans ceremony. Cathy’s journey with Angela Hospice started last Christmas when her mom told her that her dad, Pete, was really sick and she wanted to take him to the hospital. Cathy wanted to wait until Monday so they could call his doctor, which they did. Pete’s physician told them there wasn’t anything further he could do for Pete and that they needed to be looking at hospice. Pete had been a cancer patient for over ...

Over the last 13 months Sarah Wiggins has learned a lot about hospice, but the most important thing wasn’t about procedures or medication; it was to be kind to herself. “There’s this self-doubt that you have,” Sarah said. “Am I doing the right thing for my mom? And they [hospice] have the ability, because they are a step back and look at the bigger picture, and say, ‘Yes, you’re doing the right thing.’” Nancy (right) and her grandchildren, Travis and Michelle. Sarah went through this struggle twice in the last year; first with her dad in December 2014, and then with her mom the following December. Her dad had gone into the hospital on a Monday because he was dizzy and disoriented. He was also extremely agitated and his health was declining. His conditioned worsened, and a few days later, doctors asked Sarah if she had thought about palliative care for him. “I said, ‘I want him to go. I want him to be with God,’” she said. “He wasn’t himself because he was so ag...

Being cared for in the comfort of home is one of the many benefits of home hospice care. But for those residing in the Angela Hospice Care Center, the Care Center can become a comfortable home away from home as well. Our volunteers seek to make the holidays memorable by creating special opportunities for patients and families to come together and experience holiday festivities – such as Thanksgiving supper at the Care Center. Patient Jean Henegar was able to attend with six of her family members. While Jean is bed-bound, her nurses were able to wheel her bed right into the Day Room, and found her a spot where she could see the whole room – and all 91 of the other guests! Jean’s daughter, Patti Wert, saw how much it brightened her mother’s spirit. Jean Henegar’s family was happy to be able to attend Thanksgiving dinner with her at the Care Center. “It meant so much to her,” Patti said. She said Jean’s appetite improved and she was happy to be able to spend the holiday with her f...