It is never easy to say good-bye to a loved one. When my family learned about mom’s cancer diagnosis, we were devastated. We knew we wanted to make the most of the time we had left to spend with her. The decision to enter hospice was difficult at first, but that mostly resulted from us not truly understanding what exactly hospice care entailed. I can tell you, with the utmost conviction, it was the very best decision for mom and the rest of our family.

The care and compassion mom received was top notch. The special touches included: the warm blankets (that mom loved and reminded her of visiting her newborn grandkids in the hospital decades ago); the manicures (courtesy of one of the lovely volunteers – a special treat for mom); the fantastic spa bath (mom would have stayed in there all day if she could have); bacon and eggs, cooked to order (one of mom’s favourite meals); and, wheeling mom’s bed into the courtyard so she could feel the warm autumn sun on her face.

I could go on for pages about all the warm memories! As a family, we had a lot of questions. The staff was never too busy to meet and guide us through this challenging time. The nurses and staff were amazing, warm-hearted people who will likely never realize just how much they came to mean to us. We miss mom a lot. She was such an amazing woman! Thanks to the hospice staff, we were able to cherish her until her last moment.