Volunteering for hospice offers a chance to give back

The other day I had a chance to speak to Carmen Villemarette of Marksville who is a hospice volunteer. She has been involved since she retired three years ago and found a “big void” in her life. “I could have done this or I could have done that, but I knew I didn’t want to stay home and do housework,” she explained.
Carmen’s first experience with hospice was when her mother, Bessie Foster, needed the service. “Long before she got sick, my husband, Jerry, who is a funeral director, told me that if we ever had anyone in the family who was terminally sick, we needed to use hospice.” He had experienced first-hand the respect and peace hospice gave the families.
When Bessie got to a serious point, Carmen remembered what Jerry said and got hospice for her mother. “They were phenomenal,” she said, “they even followed her to the hospital and as she got worse they came everyday.”
Because hospice also takes care of the caretaker, Carmen was checked on for a year after losing her mother.
There was one hospice worker in particular, Pauline Barton, who called everyone sweetheart. “So Mom called Pauline, ‘Sweetheart.’ Mom had a lot of pain, but when Sweet-heart touched her, she would fall asleep.”
Carmen was impressed and grateful, she said, “they treat you like family. If you want exceptional care get hospice.”
With this in mind, Carmen went to All Saints Hospice to volunteer her time and give back.
“We’re all searching for God in our lives and He’s in hospice.”
To illustrate her point she recalled the time when her first patient was in the same nursing home as her mother. It was her mom’s old roommate. “This was after Mom had died and I had to go into that same room. I walked in and saw my mom’s empty bed and asked God to help me. A peace came over me and I have been in hospice work ever since.”
Carmen has done everything a volunteer could do. “I’ve taken a sick cat to the vet, bought groceries and given family members a break. Most patients just want someone to talk to.”
Another patient Carmen tended to was a stroke patient. Before her illness, she had gone to daily Mass but now she couldn’t speak and was bedridden. “She would often look at her daily Mass missal,” Carmen related, “so one day I just recited ‘The Our Father’ and tears rolled down her face.
“For someone who always went to daily Mass, she wanted to recite her prayers. Things like that are very rewarding. God was there, He’s always there.”
There was a patient of Carmen’s who had COPD and was on oxygen. As Carmen passed her house something said to go visit. “When I walked in I smelled gas but the lady said workers had been there and installed some new heaters and I was smelling the thermostat.”
When Carmen returned home and told Jerry he immediately said to call 911. “A gas leak and oxygen,” he pointed out.
As it turned out the heaters were checked and everything was fixed but it could have been a disaster.
As the patient thanked Carmen she added, “I was in my pjs and had four good looking men here.”
Carmen said, “God leads me in different places, He has His hand in it, that’s for sure. If somebody wants a deep purpose, get involved with hospice. You get more back than what you put in.”
She emphasized that she’s not a nurse nor a professional but comes from her experience with her mom, her own volunteering and what she has seen in the hospice office.
“I’ve never seen a group of ladies as dedicated to the patients. I had no idea the office was like that, they make a fantastic team with lots of good cooperation.
I have to give back because I was blessed.”