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China: Elderly bearers of love
Eastday.com,
July 9, 2003 Shanghai
- Tuesday is a special day for patients at a hospice ward in Linfen
Hospital. It brings happiness and peace of mind for them. The
conveyors of this bliss are a team of volunteers - seven women aged
between 56 and 73 years - who have been offering special care for patients
in a particular ward every Tuesday from 2 pm to 4 pm since 2000. According
to the hospital, patients in that ward suffer from cancer, with a life
expectancy of only up to three months. The
volunteers chat with the patients, most of whom are elderly, read
newspapers for them and help them with other chores such as washing and
combing. They also use their own money to hold birthday parties for the
patients. "The
senior patients here are lonely, since their children are too busy to take
care of them," Xu Gendi, one of the volunteers, said yesterday. Being
a neighborhood committee official in the Linfen Community, Xu came to know
about the conditions of the dying patients and decided to bring them some
succor by organizing a team. Six retirees volunteered to join up. "At
first, our family members thought we were crazy. But our perseverance has
changed their minds and they now appreciate our work," said Xu. "We
support them (the volunteers) because they help patients die in peace and
with dignity," said He Jinxian, vice director of Linfen Hospital. The
hospital has provided special training for the volunteers on how to
comfort patients and assuage their fear of death. Five retired male
workers will soon join the team, Xu revealed. So
far, more than 130 patients have experienced the held care from the
volunteers before dying. "They
are so kind to me, as if they were my own relatives," said Wang
Yongning, a 93-year-old, adding he always looks forward to Tuesdays. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |