Our Client & Volunteer Story Wall
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“After nourishment, shelter and companionship,
stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
Philip Pullman
stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
Philip Pullman
When Jolene Doig's husband and niece died she turned to Camrose Hospice to find a way to work through her grief. The hospice programs gave her comfort and helped her normalize the process of dying.
When Blain Fuller’s father, Edward, was diagnosed with cancer, the volunteers at Camrose Hospice jumped in to help. One of the volunteers already lived in the same building and spent time visiting, listening, drinking coffee, laughing and co-ordinating other volunteers.
“It made him feel not alone,” said Blain.
“It was comfort, friendship and companionship.”
The volunteers take their que from the sick and the family. They will hold their hands, sing, look through photo albums, or just give the family a break. Contact our office if your family needs this service.
“It made him feel not alone,” said Blain.
“It was comfort, friendship and companionship.”
The volunteers take their que from the sick and the family. They will hold their hands, sing, look through photo albums, or just give the family a break. Contact our office if your family needs this service.
This one is especially for the men in our lives.
Blain Fuller, of Wetaskwin, fancies himself as a pretty good cook and didn’t need basic cooking lessons in the Camrose Hospice Men’s Cooking Circle. But Fuller looked forward to the weekly cooking sessions for the friendship and laughter. Grief just isn’t caused by death, but the loss of a job, friendship or divorce.
Blain Fuller, of Wetaskwin, fancies himself as a pretty good cook and didn’t need basic cooking lessons in the Camrose Hospice Men’s Cooking Circle. But Fuller looked forward to the weekly cooking sessions for the friendship and laughter. Grief just isn’t caused by death, but the loss of a job, friendship or divorce.
Sometimes it just helps to to talk. When Rhonda Watt's son, Erik, died of a drug overdose she connected with Camrose Hospice to help with her grief. The hospice connected Watt with a grief companion who had also gone through the death of a child.
The two met for about a year to just talk. "She did a lot of listening, not giving answers. She let me lead," said Watt. The two clicked and it was the right time in Watt's grief journey to have a grief companion. "You have to be ready for it and it has to be the right fit for you. It was early in my grief. I was looking for help," she said.
The two met for about a year to just talk. "She did a lot of listening, not giving answers. She let me lead," said Watt. The two clicked and it was the right time in Watt's grief journey to have a grief companion. "You have to be ready for it and it has to be the right fit for you. It was early in my grief. I was looking for help," she said.
Each Nov. 1, Rhonda Watt celebrates her son's Angel anniversary, the day her son, Erik Garthus, died of a drug overdose. "It's an important day for us to honour him," said Rhonda. This year Rhonda and her husband, Bill, made spaghetti sauce with bacon, the last meal Erik made for them. They chatted with their family via Skype and drank a glass of wine.
Rhonda bought gender reveal powder and wrote Erik's name on a board and burned it in a bonfire in the backyard. The blue paint sparkled in the flames. Earlier in the day both Rhonda and Bill wrote Erik a letter. Those were also burned in the bonfire which helped release the grief. "It takes away the pain. You feel you honour him."
Rhonda bought gender reveal powder and wrote Erik's name on a board and burned it in a bonfire in the backyard. The blue paint sparkled in the flames. Earlier in the day both Rhonda and Bill wrote Erik a letter. Those were also burned in the bonfire which helped release the grief. "It takes away the pain. You feel you honour him."
Within 18 months, Marion Fowler-Law lost her mother, husband and husband's cousin, who had become an anchor during her grief. Fowler-Law said she was not coping with the three deaths. "I have been muddling through all this grief and trying to understand how all this happened to me," she said.
With the help of Camrose Hospice, Fowler-Law has learned to understood that grief has no time limit. She is allowed to grieve in her time and her own way.
With the help of Camrose Hospice, Fowler-Law has learned to understood that grief has no time limit. She is allowed to grieve in her time and her own way.