Hospice of Emanuel - Emanuel Medical Center

SPRING 2008
Hospice of Emanuel Helps Families at Life’s End
(Hospice, Cont. from page 1)
They slowed down a bit in 2003 when
Bob’s mobility started to slip. But their
days were still busy and happy, filled with
family, friends and each other.
In July 2007, life changed. MaryAnn was
75 and very active – swimming laps,
riding her bike – but all of sudden even a
trip to the store would wear her out. Their
family physician ran tests and didn’t like
what we saw. He sent her to Emanuel’s
cancer center, where doctors ran more
tests. They, too, didn’t like what they saw.
In November 2007, the Ranes learned that
MaryAnn had pancreatic cancer that had
migrated to her liver. Surgery, chemotherapy
and radiation were long-shot options.
“Doctors didn’t see much light at the end
Hospice of Emanuel staff Sandy Ricardo and
Tammy McCorkle with Bob Ranes.
of the tunnel, even with all that,” Bob says.
“MaryAnn said, ‘No.’ She just wanted to
live out the time she had left.”
Bob got around with a walker and a
scooter. His doctor worried that he
wouldn’t be able to care for MaryAnn
by himself.
“But I convinced him I could do it,”
Bob says.
“I was just standing there, blinking my
teary eyes, and they called all the shots,
gently and sweetly. I don’t know what I
would have done without them.”
-Bob Ranes
And he did, for a while, until MaryAnn
could no longer make it from the recliner
(where she preferred to sleep) to the
bathroom. Bob called his doctor and said,
“I can’t do it anymore.”
Within 20 minutes, a Hospice of Emanuel
nurse showed up at his door.
“She was like some kind of angel.” Bob
said. “I knew she couldn’t make MaryAnn
well, but she could make her comfortable.”
By the end of that day, Hospice of
Emanuel had a hospital bed set up in the
Ranes’ living room. They helped arrange
for 12-hour, and then 24-hour, home
health care.
“That allowed me to get some sleep,” Bob
says. “Not much, but some. So I was able
to stay healthy.”
Hospice of Emanuel staff did what they
always do: Whatever needed to be done.
They helped manage MaryAnn’s pain.
They answered questions – not over the
phone but in person. They showed up and
helped the couple prepare for and understand
what would come next.
Bob woke up fairly rested on the morning
of December 13, 2007. As always, he
made his way down the hall to MaryAnn’s
bed, took her hand, kissed her fingers and
said, “Good morning, sweetheart.”
MaryAnn was just barely awake. Bob
went to the kitchen and shared a cup of
coffee with the home health care nurse.
The nurse went to check on MaryAnn a
few minutes later. She returned in tears.
MaryAnn had passed away.
“I called Hospice immediately,” Bob says.
“They were here in 12 minutes. And they
did everything. They called the funeral
home, they stripped the bed. I was just
standing there, blinking my teary eyes,
and they called all the shots, gently and
sweetly. I don’t know what I would have
done without them.”
That’s the line you hear over and over
when people talk of their Hospice of
Emanuel experience. Nancy Santos lost
her husband, Melvin, on April 4, 2007.
She says Hospice helped her before,
during and after.
“They came out four months before my
husband died and took a huge burden off
my shoulders,” Nancy says. “They were
such a comfort. They helped us through the
process, step by step.”
Melvin was well until the last week of his
life, Nancy says.
“And he was never in horrible pain,”
she says. “They were so good about
managing his pain.”
Scott Atherton says Hospice of Emanuel
helped his mother, Dorothy Atherton,
through her final months of life.
“You should have seen her face when
they arrived at her home to sing Christmas
carols,” Scott says. “It made her feel so
special. They were so attentive to all of us,
when she was feeling badly and when
she was feeling well.”
That’s exactly the care Dr. MacLaren wants
Hospice of Emanuel to provide.
“Death is a part of life,” Dr. MacLaren
says. “We need to do all we can do to
ensure our patients live their fullest lives,
right to the very end.”
For more information about Hospice of
Emanuel, call (209) 664-2550.