Blue Water Hospice – Then to St. Joseph Hospice in Canada – and Back to the U.S.: October 1-2,2009

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The staff of Blue Water Hospice and some of their volunteers filled a conference room. It was a very different sight from the group of volunteers that I had met for a potluck back in 1988.

I gave my presentation and my stories and account of visits to hospice residential units in the U.S. and Canada went down well.

Carole Nichols presented me with a card that when opened played Willie Nelson's “On the Road Again.” That made me smile. There were also other gifts including some M&M's and a card to use at Wendy's.

I gave an interview to a local newspaper called “The Voice” and posed for photos for another Port Huron newspaper.

Visiting a Family

Carole then drove me across town to visit a woman who was being helped by Blue Water Hospice. She had a job as a nurse and she was used to taking care of other people. Her husband was paralyzed by his illness and the paralysis was steadily becoming worse. Hospice had helped the husband for several years, first in their palliative care program and then they transitioned him into hospice care.” The woman was in a difficult situation, because she had to work to maintain their home and also to receive medical insurance to cover her husband's treatments. Hospice provided nursing care, home care aide, physical therapy and massage therapy for the husband.

I asked the woman what Blue Water Hospice meant to her and she replied, “Without Blue Water Hospice I don't know what I would have done. I have to work to keep money coming in and to receive medical insurance. The support that Blue Water has given me is wonderful.”

I could see that years of dealing with her husband's illness had taken its toll. I could also see how grateful she was that hospice was there to help her.

I then asked Carole Nichols what was the most important thing about Blue Water Hospice? Carole was quick to answer: “I have worked for hospice here for 19 years. At Blue Water Hospice we hold on to the core values of hospice care. We will take care of anyone, regardless of their ability to pay and give them whatever support they need, through volunteers, nurses, social workers, spiritual support staff and therapists. We believe in giving people control over decision making and how they are treated and continue to give the best quality of care that we can.”

My thoughts went back to the volunteer potluck back in 1988. The Blue Water Hospice had come a long way since then. Just meeting that one person showed me the essential role that the Blue Water Hospice played in taking care of the community of Port Huron.”

My thoughts went back to the volunteer potluck back in 1988. The Blue Water Hospice had come a long way since then. Just meeting that one person showed me the essential role that the Blue Water Hospice played in taking care of the community of Port Huron.

Back to Canada, to St. Joseph’s Hospice

From Blue Water Hospice I was driven over the Blue Water Bridge to Sarnia in Ontario. My plan was to visit St. Joseph’s Hospice.

A new hospice residential unit was being built in Sarnia and the hospice offices had moved on to the same site as the residence. A grand looking old building had been refurbished and the new residence was in the same style as the old house.

At St. Joseph's Hospice office I gave my presentation. In the people gathered there was Sheila Bycraft, who had stopped to talk to me way back in a place called Wardsville. She had brought her sister with her to hear my talk. In the audience there was also Anne Baker, who I had met back in 1988. It was good to see Anne again.

St. Joseph's had 12 beds in the local hospital that were used for hospice care and the new residential unit was due to open in November. The staff at the hospice were excited and looking forward to bringing care to more people in the area. Photos were taken with me and the hospice staff outside of the hospice office.

Problems at U.S. Immigration

Monica Robson, St. Joseph's Hospice Executive Director, then drove me back to the Blue Water Bridge.

Going through Canadian immigration control had been a breeze, with just a few questions. When we got to the U.S. Immigration it was a different story. The initial immigration officer told us to go inside to talk to another officer. Monica parked her car. Her keys and both of our passports were then taken by an immigration officer. Monica was due to pick up her children from school and was anxious to drop me off as soon as possible.

Inside immigration control a young officer asked me if I had a printed itinerary of my visits to hospices, to which I said no. He wanted a business card. Luckily I had one on me from the National Hospice Foundation. The officer also wanted to know how much money I was carrying on me and asked if I had recent pay slips to show who my employer was. I didn't have recent proof of employment. After maybe 5 or 10 minutes of questioning the officer said they would re-issue my I-94 and change my status.

It was only then, after he had grilled me and got me worried that I wouldn't be allowed to re-enter the U.S. that he told me that both his grandparents had been helped by hospice. At one point during the questioning he had asked me why an American or Canadian doing the walk. In the face of this absurd question, I was tempted to say, “Because they are all too lazy to walk!” but I'd held my tongue. I simply explained that I had done the walk 21 years ago and I wanted to do the journey again in memory of my mum. When they finally handed back Monica's car keys and our passports I breathed sigh of relief.

Monica dropped me off at the Blue Water Hospice offices and Carole then took me back to the Edison Inn.

I ate a huge dinner there, on my own and got an early night. The rest of Michigan and the way North lay ahead.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Carole Nichols walked with me from Blue Water Hospice up to the start of Lapeer Road. As we walked rain was falling. I gave Carole a hug, we said our goodbyes and it was back to the road.

Carole had made contact with Avalon Hospice in Flint. She had also left messages with the Covenant Hospice in Saginaw and McLaren Hospice in Bay City and Davison. I was so grateful for her help in making contact with Michigan hospices.

As the rain fell my feet and legs were soon wet. By about 10 am I reached the small town of Wadhams and made for the McDonald’s there.

Temporary Office at McDonald’s

As the rain fell outside McDonalds became my temporary office.

I phoned up Avalon, Covenant and McLaren Hospices. Avalon were arranging tv coverage for Monday and could provide me with two nights stay at the Comfort Inn in Flint. That was good news. I left voice mail messages with Covenant and McLaren Hospices and asked them to e-mail me.

I also contacted the Hospice of Michigan in Tawas. Catherine Nickell Simpson there had met me back in 1988, when she was a young volunteer in her two. Now she was in charge of the Hospice of Michigan in Tawas. My call to Catherine worked out well. Catherine had a volunteer called Mary Rudowski, who had a home near Lapeer. Mary was willing to pick me up off the road and give me a night's stay. As the rain fell outside I hoped Mary would be able to pick me up.

Buy the time I had eaten and made the phone calls it was close to 11 am as I left Wadhams. The plan was that I would walk until 8 pm and then call Mary.

Through Goodells and the crossroads and cemetery that marked the small town of Emmett, all was well. As the afternoon came the rain stopped and I began to dry out. A nurse called Cathy and a man called Umberto stopped to talk to me. I gave them both cards with the Web site address.

By 6:45 pm I reached the small town of Capac. An orange train carriage stood to my left, as part of the local museum. I called Mary Rudowski and she said she would be about 40 minutes. I carried on walking.

At a gas station on the edge of Capac a man stopped me. His name was Denny and his son was with him, dressed in football gear. Denny had read about me in the newspaper from Port Huron. He wished me luck and off I went.

Meeting Up with Mary and Enjoying her Wonderful Home

I hadn't walked far when a white truck pulled up. It was Mary. She picked me up by Kettle Nut Road.

Mary was in her sixties and had worked as a hospital chaplain for many years. Now she was volunteering for the Hospice of Michigan at Tawas. Mary's husband was recovering from an operation, but was staying up in Oscoda, which was further north in Michigan.   We ate at the Big Boy Restaurant in Imlay City. It was good. We both had the soup and salad bar.

Mary took me back to her house, which was several miles north of Lapeer. The house was made with large beams of cedar and panels of pine. Outside was a totem-pole with an eagle, wolf, owl and cat carved into it. The wooden house was set amongst several acres of trees. It was a fantastic place.

Although Mary was a hospital chaplain she also took part in Native American ceremonies. When we went into the house she had a large bag of sage leaves, for use in purifying the area. Mary was also very health conscious. She drank rice milk, as she was lactose intolerant. She also did not eat at places like McDonald’s. The atmosphere in the wooden house was wonderful. Lamps made from large pink tinged salt crystals were in several rooms and there were other crystals in the building too. There were also wood carvings. The natural feel of the cedar and pine added to the feeling of peace in the house.

In the basement we hung my tent out to dry. I said goodnight to Mary, then went upstairs to have a shower and get ready for bed. My shoes were still damp, but all my other clothes had dried off.

From a day of rain to staying in the amazing wooden building, my luck was certainly improving.