We are not called to be great. But we are called to reach out our own hands to our brothers and sisters, and to care for the earth in the time we are given.
- Kent Nerburn
To celebrate National Volunteer Week, we say thank you to our Blue Skies volunteers who bring light and love into people's lives:
Julie Hancin
Diane Palma
Paul Reinbolt
Carolyn Kalweit
Volunteers are the backbone of the hospice team. They allow hospice to provice services it otherwise could not offer.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer call (219) 554-0688, and ask for volunteer coordinator Pearl Masciotra.
Just five months ago, Russell Mikesell was ready to give up.
In February of 2010, the 64-year-old Ellsworth resident lost his right lung to cancer.
After months of chemotherapy and recuperation, Mikesell thought he was on the path to recovery. But last fall, Mikesell found himself back in the hospital after his remaining lung collapsed.
He was released from the hospital and began receiving hospice care at his home. But caring for Mikesell at home was just too much for his family to handle.
In November, he was admitted to the VitalCare Hospice of Little Traverse Bay’s Hiland Cottage in Petoskey. With a grim diagnosis, neither he nor his wife, Ellen, thought he would survive.
“I just figured I was going to die because that’s what you think happens when you go to hospice,” Mikesell said. “But then something changed.”
Ten days after arriving at hospice, Mikesell woke up one morning and saw things differently.
“For the first 10 days I was there, everyone was just so patient and helpful. Nobody made fun of me, they just took care of me,” Mikesell recalled. “Then, somehow, I woke up on the 11th day and felt I was going to live. It was kind of like an epiphany — I just felt entirely different.”
A couple days later, Mikesell was regularly getting up, going to the kitchen and helping the nurses with small tasks.
He continued to improve, and on Dec. 31, 2010, Mikesell graduated from hospice.
He is now cancer free, and while he is no longer in the care of hospice, he refuses to leave: He now volunteers his time at Hiland Cottage.
“I would do anything for those people. They pulled me through my darkest time, that’s what made me better,” Mikesell said. “I’m changed. I guess it happens to everyone when they go through a close call.”
Karen Gauden, clinical manager at Hiland Cottage in Petoskey, said she has seen many patients over the years leave hospice and go on to live healthy lives.
“Often, people think they come to hospice to die, but we do have patients that graduate from hospice,’” she said.
Gauden added that while no one ever wants to be in hospice, those touched by its services, whether patients or family members, often leave the hospice experience singing its praises.
“Hospice becomes part of your family and you become part of theirs. I would do anything for them so I’m going to give back,” Mikesell said.
Mikesell said now, because of hospice, he views death as part of life and as an event that should not be feared.
“My experience with hospice is something that is hard for me to talk about without getting teared up, but I want to share my experience in the hopes of helping others,” Mikesell said. “I don’t plan on dying for a long time, but when I do, I think I’ll do it more gracefully and with more poise than I would without having gone through hospice.”