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Hospice brightens the holiday season

Some carollers have been roaming the halls of a local healthcare facility bringing cheer to patients who are celebrating their final Christmas season.
Some of the Hopsice Carollers roam the halls entertaining patients and their families during the Christmas season. They are, from left, Bonnie Wiebe, Jane Welsh, Cindy de
Some of the Hopsice Carollers roam the halls entertaining patients and their families during the Christmas season. They are, from left, Bonnie Wiebe, Jane Welsh, Cindy de Vouge, Ross Welsh and Herb Robertson.

Some carollers have been roaming the halls of a local healthcare facility bringing cheer to patients who are celebrating their final Christmas season.

The carollers may be out of pitch but they are right in tune in bringing comfort and joy to patients and families at the Foothills Country Hospice.

“We call ourselves the ‘Hospice Carollers’ — it’s everyone from our accountant, to our cooks, housekeepers, myself and we put on goofy hats, stroll the halls singing songs and we take requests,” said Betty George, hospice volunteer co-ordinator. “Sometimes that request is to shut the door so they can’t hear us — but the families and the patients seem to have fun with it… We don’t expect to have talent agents knocking on our door anytime soon.”

The Foothills Country Hospice, one of five charity supported by the Wheel Cares campaign, works hard all year for its patients.

However, things are a bit different during the holiday season.

“It is their last Christmas and it is here,” George said. “My job as a volunteer co-ordinator is to bring as much meaning to the season as possible… We really try to bring Christmas to the building.”

The hospice gets plenty of help from the Foothills community. The Foothills Philharmonic, the Foothills Men’s Concert, Big Rock Singers and volunteers have performed at the hospice for the holiday season.

The scenic hospice has turned into a winter wonderland as tens of thousands of Christmas lights brighten the facility — one half expect to see a reindeer pop out to join the moose and deer that frequent the area.

“The lights come on at 6 p.m. and they are strung up in a way in which these beautiful lights can be seen from every window in the facility,” George said. “The patients often come to the spiritual room, shut off the room’s lights and they can enjoy the peacefulness of the lights and the country setting.”

The patients can be wheeled in their beds into the room, which provides a panoramic view, to enjoy the light.

It was the Christmas lights that brought one of the most cherished memories for George.

“A young girl would crawl into bed with her mother (who was a patient), look at the lights and they would have this beautiful peaceful moment and lay there and talk for hours — about Santa coming, how was her school day,” George said. “They got to share some very special moments.”

George would later videotape the young girl’s Christmas concert, so family could watch it together in her mom’s room.

The hospice also makes sure family is well fed for the season.

“We have a big turkey dinner with all the fixings on Christmas eve,” George said. “Everyone is invited to bring their friends and family.”

However, on Dec. 25, that is for the patients and their loved ones.

“Christmas Day is more low-key where the patients spend it with their families to enjoy their own traditions,” she said.

It is all about respecting the needs — emotionally, spiritually and physically — of the patients.

“We feel we can bring the patients and the families a Christmas to remember by bringing the joy into the building,” George said. “There’s an expression I love: ‘we can’t change the outcome but we can change the experience.’

“While the patients are here we can bring hope, joy, smiles and we can provide that shoulder for them to cry on.”

Other charities The Wheel Cares campaign is supporting this year include the Sheep River Health Trust, the Okotoks Food Bank, The Magic of Christmas and the Rowan House Emergency Shelter.

To participate in the Wheel Cares campaign, call Gayle Wolf at the Western Wheel office Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 403-938-6397.

Make a donation using your credit card, debit, cash or cheque (payable to Western Wheel Cares) at #9 McRae Street or mail to Box 150, Okotoks, AB T1S 2A2. Please do not mail cash.

Alternatively, visit www.westernwheel.com to donate using Paypal.

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