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A Friend’s Message of Hope

They were like peas and carrots–always together. They shared everything over their 52-year friendship, and that trust brought peace to their parting when Jane’s life reached its end.
Jane was a combination of tough and tender, Mary Ann recalls. She thrived in her work with children with disabilities, but the job’s physical demands took a toll on Jane’s body. “She just lifted one too many kids in wheelchairs,” Mary Ann said.
Back pain led to a series of surgeries. After the last, Jane was left with life-threatening complications that sent her to the hospital five times in five months.
During Jane’s last hospital stay, Mary Ann asked to sit in on meetings of the medical team and got the answers she needed. If Jane survived, she would be bedridden, unable to walk again, doctors told her. Jane would not want to live this way, Mary Ann told doctors. Hearing Jane’s wishes from someone who knew them well, they recommended hospice. Now Mary Ann faced another choice: which hospice?
The right choice was clear. Mary Ann had visited patients at the Community Healthcare of Texas Hospice House at Huguley, an inpatient unit in nearby Burleson. It was there that patients with complex needs and their families receive 24-hour care by a team of hospice specialists.
“The people there made an unbearable situation bearable,” Mary Ann said. “Jane could not communicate, but in my opinion, she didn’t need to. The nurses took her every need and dealt with it with respect, tenderness, and care.”
They spent two unforgettable weeks at the Community Healthcare Hospice House at Huguley. From nurses who cared tenderly for Jane to the custodian who sang for them, “the compassion and the understanding that those people had still amazes me to this very day,” Mary Ann said. “These people are not just doing their jobs. They are answering a calling. Truthfully, there are no words for these people but angel.”

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