Guelph, Ontario: A Hospice Visit and a Social Evening: September 26, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Arriving at Guelph Friday Night and Meeting Jackie Again
It was good to pull into Guelph Station at about 10:15 on Friday night. As I climbed down steps to the platform Jackie MacKenzie was there.
It was good to meet Jackie. Back in 1988 I had stayed with Jackie in London, Ontario. Jackie was one of the founding members of London Hospice. She looked just the same as she had 20 years earlier.
It was great to be able to meet up with her again. We drove to Jackie's house and talked until about midnight.
Visiting the Hospice in Guelph
After a good night's sleep I had breakfast with Jackie and members of the board of Hospice Cares, which serves Guelph and Wellington, Ontario.
The head of the Board was a man from Inverness in Scotland called Jim MacKenzie. Jim worked for Hydro, the Canadian electricity company. Jim had a ready smile and was easy to talk to.
Jim told me that what touched him most was seeing the work that hospice volunteers would do. He told me how, in the middle of winter hospice volunteers would drive hundreds of miles to sit with a patient all through the night, so they wouldn't be alone. He was amazed at the dedication and care that hospice volunteers gave.
New Residential Unit To be Built
At Guelph a new hospice residence was in the process of being built. Once we had eaten breakfast we drove over to the building site of the hospice residential unit. Jim talked about how there would be a “living wall” covered in plants and fed hydroponically, to help improve air quality inside the building.
The plan was that residents would be in the building by June of 2010.
Jim told me that the Canadian ministry of health would supply over half of the funding to keep the residence operating, but that they would need to fund raise around $500,000 a year too. The members of the board were excited to see the building take shape.
I posed for photos beside the building with Jackie and Jim. Once the photos were done Jackie took me back to her house.
A Social Evening at Jackie’s House
That evening Jackie invited friends round to meet me. I showed my pictures and told them about the journey. The night was good. There was a man called Rino there. He was a lively character and a hospice volunteer. There was a lady called Karen who was a psychologist, a man called Andre who was on the board for the hospice, a friend of Jackie's called Debbie, who was a French teacher, and a woman named Evelyn who does therapeutic touch, and Evelyn's husband Ken.
More Therapeutic Touch on My Left Foot
Evelyn worked on my foot. She told me that there was a problem with my left foot. I had a strange twinge on the top of that foot, where I had strained something and also had the bad blister on the bottom, too.
The therapeutic touch in Windsor had involved actual light touches. As Evelyn moved her hands just above my feet she didn't touch them. As I sat there with my left foot on her lap I did feel relaxed. I could see how the attention and feeling of relaxation would be good for people with more serious injuries or illnesses.
It was good to have a sociable evening. After two Guinnesses and some wine I fell asleep immediately.
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