Letters from the Heart

In our ongoing efforts to tell the “hospice story”, "Letters from the Heart" includes patient and family stories. These stories and letters are a small sampling of the thousands of people Hospice of Larimer County serves every year. We honor them - our patients and families - by sharing their stories.

Dear Hospice, Our family has been so grateful to have Hospice be a part of our lives for the past ten months. The support from the nursing staff, counseling and pastoral services has been invaluable. Hospice is not just about dying. It is really much more about living well to the very end. Being surrounded by such caring, professional people has enabled our family to do just that, live each day to the fullest as a gift from God. Having Hospice volunteers come and help my father complete his 300 question life book was one of the greatest gifts he could have been given. Since family members are usually the caregivers often there is little emotional energy left for “special extras”. The hours that the volunteers spent listening to his stories was an important validation of his life. It said to him, “We are interested in you life. You are a valuable person and we care about you.” What could be more important than to experience such love and care at the end of ones life? Above all, Hospice gives dignity and worth to the living person who yes, someday will die. But Hospice says to them: “You are valuable until your last breath because you are a unique human being of infinite worth.” May we all be so blessed to know such things and experience them in our lives. Thank you.

“I was honored to help my husband move from this life into eternity. The Hospice Team gave me support to boost my confidence so that I could stay strong. I am grateful to the Team for their knowledge and compassion. Thank you.”

“I know that you must receive numerous acknowledgments of your good works and compassion...this is another. I doubt I can say it any better than others whose lives have been touched by your mission. When loved ones reach heaven and tell their life stories - God must smile when they reach the end and tell of the love, care and compassion they received from Hospice.”

"Hospice was the one safe place I could allow myself to grieve…it was such a relief. I learned to work through this incomprehensible loss and ignore any external directive that I should 'be brave' or 'get over it'. I have learned to embrace a new life…it was a lifeline."