Norfolk is a beautiful waterfront city in southeastern Virginia, and home to the massive Naval Station Norfolk. This sweet city on the water was also the home of a recent patient on the service of Hospice of Virginia, a member of the Hospice Partners of America Family. She had grown up in Norfolk around the water, and her life partner of 17 years had even spent many years crabbing in those waters. But one regret the patient had was that she had never actually been on a boat in her 63 years of being surround by water.
The entire hospice team pu
t their heads together and came up with a plan to send the couple on a dinner cruise on the Spirit of Norfolk on St. Patrick’s Day. This would be the fulfillment of this awesome lady’s final wish, and the team would not let anything keep them from accomplishing this.
Despite the patient’s steadily increasing confusion, each morning she would wake up and ask if “today was the day we are going on the cruise?” Finally that day did arrive. It was a beautifully sunny and mild day – a perfect day for a cruise. However the combination of the excitement and the 25-minute car ride proved an unfortunate combination for this patient. She became car sick, and the team had to clean her up before she could board the ship, and that is exactly what they did. After getting cleaned up and being assisted on the ship, she was still not feeling well. A decision had to be made quickly whether to stay on the cruise or disembark. The patient decided it was then or never, and they set sail!
The Captain and crew were fantastic and assisted the group to an upper deck with special accommodations due to the patient’s illness. This also proved to provide a much more peaceful and serene environment with even better view of the shipyard. The patient’s partner kept giving detailed descriptions of the sites they were seeing, and sharing stories of the many years she spent crabbing these same spots. The patient was even able to eat after her stomach calmed down, and she ate better than she had in quite some time.
In preparing to disembark, the Captain came and asked if it would be acceptable to give a gift from the entire crew. Then he presented the patient with on of the ship’s actual life rings personally signed by himself and all 15 crew members. Then he commemorated the moment with a professional photograph with everyone for them to keep. The patient did not stop talking about this incredible experience, and proudly shows off her new mementos. Life is best spent making a difference. Hospice of Virginia proved that when you work together, anything is possible.
Hospice Partners of America is a superior provider of end-of-life care with locations in Texas, Missouri, Idaho, Virginia, Oregon and Kansas. Our hospice brands include Alamo Hospice, Serenity Hospice, Hospice Partners, Harrison’s Hope Hospice and Hospice of Virginia. Our passion is serving our communities and our promise is that no one dies alone, afraid or in pain. If you or a loved one are facing a difficult illness please contact us and see if you could benefit from our services.