Since its establishment in 2012, the Sharing Wishes Fund has made a significant impact in the lives of many hospice patients and families in central Illinois. Whether it is a special family-and-friends gathering or a visit from a distant loved…
Girls just want to have fun, and Dorothy Ferrara is no exception. Dorothy, a patient of Memorial Home Services Hospice, had mentioned to several staff members that she wanted to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. When Kelsi…
In her 65 years, Sharon Mills of Hillsboro has never had a Christmas dress. A patient in Memorial’s Home Hospice program, Sharon confided to social worker Laurie Dobrinich and Hospice nurse Tom Culberson, RN, that all she wanted this holiday…
Wishes. They can be large in scale or elaborate in approach. But for Diane Huffines, a 72-year-old hospice patient with Memorial Home Services, her wish was simple: to relax – even if just for an hour. A simple visit to…
When Kent Hill’s wife of 32 years, Sandy, was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), an incurable nerve disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, he felt alone. With no nearby family and a spouse facing a terminal illness, Kent…
Walt McCarty didn’t have a big wish on his bucket list before he died. He only wanted to make one last trip to St. Louis. Walt has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, a common lung disease that makes it…
In June 2011, Dorothy Johnson and her family received startling and sad news. Dorothy, 91, had advanced lung cancer – it was so advanced that her oncologist immediately suggested home hospice care. Dorothy, a mother of two, grandmother of four…