Not all cases are the same, and so, not all needs are the same.
The recent case of a 38-year-old male palliative care patient of Freda H. Gordon Hospice and Palliative Care of Tidewater is a perfect example. Diagnosed with stomach cancer in October, this relatively young man rapidly declined. He was given two months to live without treatment and about six months with treatment. The patient has two young girls and his youngest just had open-heart surgery.
Grace V. Padgett, RN, BSN at Jewish Family Service, received a phone call that the patient had fallen. The patient had a doctor’s appointment and was trying to walk up his two stairs to get into his house, became too weak, and fell.
Jewish Family Service quickly got him a wheelchair and then called HPCT to ask if it was possible to get a ramp built since he had another doctor’s appointment the next day at 2:30 pm and had no way of getting down the stairs in a wheelchair. An email was sent to the Hospice team to see if anyone knew of a company that could build the ramp. Padgett quickly realized that she had the answer as she is married to a project manager for a construction company, Homeland Contracting. She called her husband and explained the situation. He immediately spoke with his boss and his crew headed out to build a ramp for the patient completely free of charge.
It is amazing what a group of well-intentioned people can do when there is a need to help.