Our family has been the beneficiary of the wonderful services that Clarehouse provides to not one, but two family members. Five years ago, our 62-year-old sister was diagnosed with end-stage pancreatic cancer in February and one week later, we were tasked with finding placement for her to live out her last days. Although, we were not aware of Clarehouse or the services they provide, a social worker advocated on behalf of our family, and Terry was accepted as a patient in Clarehouse. Our families experience with the staff was stellar. Not only were Terry’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs met, but our family’s needs of dealing with her impending death were met by staff as well.
Fast forward to December 2020; our family was faced with another challenging situation, our
87-year-old father was in end-stage COPD. He needed end-of-life services that the personnel of Clarehouse prides themselves in providing. With the challenges we faced during the pandemic with wearing masks, social distancing and quarantining, it had been nine months since we had been able to have a face-to-face conversation and love on him. So, when it was suggested that Clarehouse was a placement option for dad, we embraced the suggestion. Although, dad resided in Clarehouse less than 24 hours, the professionalism and compassion that was shown to him was exactly what we anticipated. Due to pandemic restrictions, visitation was limited in number of visitors and length of visit, but we were comforted in knowing that dad would be well cared for and loved on in our absence.
Choosing palliative care for a terminally-ill loved one is a tough decision but knowing a special place like Clarehouse exists that prioritizes comfort measures and quality of life is comforting for those who find themselves needing to make such a decision. An inviting home that shares peace, dignity, love and warmth while meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life is characteristic of Clarehouse. Our family is grateful for the staff and volunteers for sharing kindness, respect, gentleness and love to our precious family members as we prepared to say good-bye. Staff and volunteers that lined the corridor as the funeral home personnel wheeled our loved ones to the van will always be an image of respect that we hold close in our hearts.
- The Family of Terry Donaho and Carl Worley-
