During the Indochina wars there was a nun cleansing the gangrenous wounds of a badly injured soldier. A journalist who was walking by said, “Sister, I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” Without stopping her emergency effort, the nun replied, “Neither would I.”
In recent days, we have witnessed inspiring efforts of care and cure from frontline health professionals to conquer COVID-19. Prior to this pandemic there were and are care providers who on a daily basis confronted dying with living and loving.
They are the staff and volunteers at the Maison McCulloch Hospice. During the past decade more than 1,600 people have spent their last days and weeks at the hospice. In the midst of the COVID crisis, we have been reminded that we can not cure everyone — we continue to seek the Holy Grail of a vaccine to immunize us from this virus.
The hospice knows we also don’t have the vaccines against the cornucopia of cancers that create a terminal diagnosis for our loved ones. The hospice is a place of caring when curing is no longer an option. It is a place where people go not to die but to live their final days on their own terms with respect, dignity and love. It is a place that supports family and friends in the journey of mourning a death while celebrating a life.
The hospice has never charged for its facilities, services and staff. Everyone and anyone can go to our hospice. The government funds 66 per cent of the operational expenses. The remaining 34 per cent of expenses is paid by funds raised in our community. That translates into approximately $1 million raised annually to keep the doors open.
I’m sure by now we all realize COVID-19 has closed non-essential service (we likely all need a haircut). It has suspended all sporting events (would the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs). It even has stopped us being able to go to dog parks or Bell Park. What you may not have thought of is that COVID-19 has stopped community fundraising for the hospice.
We have had to postpone the Sudbury Regional Credit Union Hike for the Hospice until the fall ($175,000); the memoriam monies given at funeral home visitations (approximately $22,000 a month); third-party events from golf tournaments to motorcycle poker runs ($50,000); the generous gifts from service clubs, church groups and fraternal organizations who are not able to meet. To date the provincial government has not established a fund for these financial shortfalls.
The Maison McCulloch Hospice needs help. The caregiving by the staff is priceless and given freely, but that million dollars is needed to pay the operating expenses. If you or anyone you know can make a donation please contact Ashley Pawlowicz, Sudbury Hospice Foundation, at 705-920-9877 or MaisonSudburyHospice.org/donate. Let your sharing be the vaccine to protect the hospice caring.
Gerry Lougheed Jr. is the chair of the Sudbury Hospice Foundation.
