“I suspect that our Hospice story is not unlike so many others. But to our family, it felt like we were the only people in the house. We had expert care, but beyond that, the level of compassion and comfort provided to us cannot adequately be described in words.” – Kathy Reid

Louise (Alojzija) Zadel was the first person welcomed into our new Hospice home, making St. Joseph’s Hospice her home for four months. Joe Zadel was by his mother’s side when she passed away in her 97th year. Louise’s approach to life was hard work, honesty, and generosity.

How a note after death inspired Bob Sanders to persevere. Before Bob Sanders’ wife, Linda, passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospice, she wrote him a note encouraging him to persevere once she was gone.

Local business leader and President of May-McConville-Omni Insurance Brokers, Peter McConville, passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospice in June 2017. His brother, Shawn, shares the family’s experience within the hospice residence and why they chose to give to St. Joseph’s Hospice in memory of Peter.

Peggy was diagnosed with two forms of cancer and lived in her home under the watchful care of her daughter, Robin, for the last five years of her illness before coming to Hospice.

Kathy’s family made St. Joseph’s Hospice their home in 2018. From Thanksgiving dinner to manicures and hair cuts, Kathy came to life in a new way in her new home.

When Brenda discovered St. Joseph’s Hospice of London right in her backyard, she immediately wanted to be part of the organization. She started playing the piano at Hospice three years ago. When not playing the piano, she is greeting visitors as a volunteer at our reception desk.

At the age of 56, Judy Caetano was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was introduced to St. Joseph’s Hospice. Judy and her mother, Olinda, expressed the wish to have a Hospice Volunteer Visitor to provide regular companionship. Our staff went to work on finding a compatible volunteer and matched Jen, a retired epidemiologist and researcher.

“Words can’t describe how happy we were when we received the call. After a turbulent journey in hospital palliative care and at home, a suite had become available for my Dad at St. Joseph’s Hospice,” shares Dina Boone.

A heartfelt appeal to fund bereavement counselling was made by Kate Courey at the seventh annual Handbags for Hospice as she shared her mother’s experience. Her words impacted everyone in the room and guests donated generously to help raise $28,790 in less than 10 minutes.

At 37 years of age, Brad Smith received the devastating news that he had stage three colon cancer, that stung the family to the point of heartache. With his loving wife, Jessie, and two small children by his side, they began what they thought was the journey to recovery. Sadly only a few months later they were told the cancer had spread.

“Every visitor who crosses our threshold is doing so with some degree of heightened emotion. When we are sensitive to that, we can ease that stress a tiny bit.”

Everyone matters at St. Joseph’s Hospice. Our patients, their caregivers and families are at the heart of everything we do. Read more about Rick and Irene as they celebrate their wedding anniversary at St. Joseph’s Hospice.

Patti passed away peacefully on February 7 after a stunningly short battle with cancer at the age of 72. “As a family, we hesitated to take her to hospice. We wanted to keep her home,” said one of Patti’s sisters, Lynne Mitchell.

On behalf of everyone served by St. Joseph’s Hospice, we are reminded and grateful that the “Great Room” in our Hospice Home was made possible by a most generous donation by Richard Ivey.

St. Joseph’s Hospice put out a call for support, and we are delighted to report that we have now received the funding for all 10 beds.

“Mom went downhill really fast. It was very hard watching her decline every day. When we arrived at Hospice, I was so relieved. I knew she was in good care. I got to be her daughter again.”

The COVID-19 pandemic situation is rapidly evolving in Ontario. St. Joseph’s Hospice continues to take actions to reduce the transmission protect our staff, physicians, patients, families and visitors.

At their game on January 24, the London Knights presented a cheque to St. Joseph’s Hospice with the proceeds of their annual London Knights Charity Golf Tournament on August 23, 2019.