hospice dying

My former co-worker, Shawne Wickham, has a moving piece in today’s New Hampshire Sunday News on an 88-year-old dying of lymphoma in a hospice:

Madeline Urbach was clear from the start: No chemotherapy, no radiation. And when the time comes, no respirator, no feeding tube.

So there will be no artificial means to prolong her life. At 88, she is surrounded instead by the most natural of life supports: Her family’s love. …

Madeline Urbach’s face is radiant, a smile playing on her lips and behind her eyes. “I’m happy here,” she says. …

A Raggedy Ann doll is never far from her hands, which are baby-soft to the touch. When she first came to Hospice House four weeks ago, his mother asked Bill to bring her a Raggedy Ann. It had been her first doll, she told him, and would bring her comfort.

Urbach called French’s Toy Shop in Concord. The owner, Anne Yates, told him she used to carry Raggedy Anns but had none in stock.

How soon did he need it, she wanted to know. He stumbled through an explanation of the circumstances, his mother’s wish, the uncertainty of time.

Come by the shop, the woman told him.

And when he did, the doll was there. She had sent someone to fetch it from her Manchester warehouse and had it waiting for him.

“She would not take any money from me,” Urbach said. “The lady said to me, ‘You’re a good son . . . Get it to your mother.’”

The last words come out choked, tears flowing over the kindness of a stranger, an unexpected and overwhelming gift.