10 Days

During a weekly Monday morning staff meeting, John*, the Executive Director for Hospice, learned that the weekend nurse took a call from a woman named *Ms. Carol in Greer. 

"Her words were hard to understand. She was in so much pain it was difficult for her to talk," John shared. "When I contacted her, she was pleading for help with her pain and asking for hospice, but she wasn't making sense. She was also refusing 911, saying she didn't want to go back to the hospital."

After some research and conversations with the case managers at the hospital, John learned that Ms. Carol was in her 50s, and in the last 4 months, she had lost her brother, sister, and mother. She had just been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer the week before. Her oncology appointment was scheduled for the following Friday. After learning that her niece was her only caregiver, John and his team began coordinating with her to secure pain medications to get Ms. Carol through until the appointment. 

"By Monday night, we had secured two prescriptions for her pain, but the niece called in tears to tell us she could only afford one of them, and she was taking that one to her aunt." John called the local drug store, Greer Drug*, and spoke to Shane, the pharmacist. "I told him what was going on, and he put me on hold for more than 3 minutes. When he returned, he shared that a local church women’s group had a fund at the drug store to help pay for prescriptions in situations like this. They covered the second medication." 

After getting Ms. Carol's pain under control, they were also able to move the oncology appointment to Thursday afternoon. John got a call from Ms. Carol. "There is nothing they can do," she shared. "I am too tired to talk now. Can we plan in the morning?" 

Friday morning, John and his team knocked on the door of her trailer, but there was no answer. The neighbor came out and directed them to a small 400 square foot workshop in the back with a small kitchenette where Ms. Carol lived alone. She had been barely eating and weighed less than 90 pounds. John and his team assessed that Ms. Carol qualified for immediate placement at the Greer Home in Hospice, but she had no money to pay for it. 

John contacted the CEO of the Greer Homes Foundation and submitted a referral for emergency funding. "The Foundation had approved funds for her placement in an hour, and we moved her to her new room." 

"Two of our hospice aids recognized Ms. Carol and shared that her mother had helped take care of them. They wanted to personally care for Ms. Carol, and they did. She spent 10 days surrounded by our team and her niece until she died in peace," John shared. "Talk about a community coming together and helping a woman who was being underserved." 

Your generosity to the Greer Homes Foundation makes it possible for John and his team to meet the needs of the most vulnerable through the work of Hospice. Thank you for your generosity. 

*Names and images changed to protect the privacy of the patient and family.