I have been a Burnaby Hospice volunteer for five years and I hope to be able to be a hospice volunteer until the day before I die. It’s important to work! I became a Burnaby Hospice Volunteer because I helped two friends die at home. These experiences made me aware of the importance of ‘being there’ with the dying.

I enter each room with openness, willingness, and peace. I sit a while, hold a hand, sing a song, massage cream into dry skin, play cards, bring a drink, and read a book out loud. But what I mostly do is listen. There are often things needing to be said and to have a listener is sometimes all it takes.

There is no burden to carry someone’s words or to bear witness to their passing. It is a privilege to witness the sharing of stories and to continue to carry them even after the person is gone.

I hope I have many volunteers around my bed when my time comes! We can exchange words, someone might bring a dog to pet, we could watch silly shows on TV and just breathe the energy of life to the end! What wonderful medicine for dying!

During the year I have volunteered with Burnaby Hospice Society, I have shared a sacred space with those at the end of their life. I offer my time to hear the stories of the lives they lived, the families they were a part of, the adventures and challenges they faced, and the fears they saw ahead.

Being of service to those at the end of their life is a humbling experience. To know and beknown is loving and compassionate.

Spending time with those in hospice is an honor and a blessing. Death is not something to be feared. The support, compassion, and companionship of volunteers make a difference in the deaths of patients in hospice care.