Silverado Hospice fulfills simple wishes for its patients.
Story by Jake Finch with the Ventura County Star:
It was a simple request — a dying wish from a young father with cancer wanting to enjoy his 4-year-old son for as long as possible. But the cost of the motorized wheelchair — $1,700 or more — to fulfill Jose Fernandez-Malto’s dream of watching his son play in a nearby Oxnard park was beyond the family’s means.
That’s when the hospice organization overseeing Fernandez-Malto’s case stepped in to help.
Lori Netzen, the volunteer manager for Silverado Hospice in Simi Valley, contacted Montgomery Marketing, a medical supply company, and arranged for the donation of a motorized wheelchair for her 26-year-old patient.
“How do you not do this?” asked Netzen.
Fernandez-Malto’s wife, Maria, also will receive a spa day. She is a 24-hour caregiver for both her husband and her son, said Marlene Blanksma, the nursing case manager for the family.
“Just due to the stress and strain of that, we’re providing gifts for her,” Blanksma said.
Fernandez-Malto has battled cancer since 2006. His cancer affects his legs and has left him unable to walk. He was placed in hospice care in late June. Hospice organizations provide end-of-life care and counseling for patients given six months or less to live and their families.
Netzen and her co-workers are now trying to make wishes from two other patients a reality.
Myla Basallaje, Silverado’s administrator, said the effort, called Turning Dreams into Reality, has her staff contacting businesses and community groups to secure the resources needed for the wishes.
“There are organizations out there that have specific programs for hospice patients for larger-scale wishes,” Basallaje said. Netzen “is trying to provide these smaller wishes through our organization, with the help and assistance of community vendors.”
One of the other wishes involves a woman who wants to visit some former co-workers. Living in a skilled nursing facility, she’s completely bed-bound. Basallaje said Netzen has arranged transportation for the woman, and to have her hair and makeup done beforehand so she will look her best for the visit.
The second wish involves a woman who lives in a board-and-care facility and wants to go out for a nice lunch. A restaurant in the San Fernando Valley, where the woman lives, has donated a lunch for four. Another business has donated a limousine for transportation, and local beauticians will provide beauty services.
“These gifts have not come out of funds from the hospice. These gifts were all donated,” Basallaje said.
A foundation associated with Silverado could accept monetary donations to help pay for the wishes, but so far, all the donations have been in the form of goods and services, Basallaje said.
It’s a program Netzen hopes will continue. “This is a really beautiful story and it just goes to show that people in hospice do have wishes,” she said.
For more information, contact Silverado Hospice at 577-1818.
— Jake Finch can be reached at alljake@hotmail.com.
- vcstar.com
