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What's happening in our home?

Meet Richard and Carol and Mason.

Carol is Richard's mom. She always imagined she would be able to handle caring for her son. So when Richard was handed a two to twelve month life expectancy by his doctors, they decided it best for him to move to Indianapolis from his home in Baton Rouge. At least that would eliminate the 850-mile drive and it brought her son home.

Richard, with visits from his son Mason, brought joy and exuberance to Carol and her husband Rex's home. The two would fill their days racing around The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, playing games at the local Chuck E. Cheese’s or, on more mellow days, the pair would snuggle up and catch countless cartoons.

When Mason visited, Richard devoted all of his time and energy to his son. Some nights the TV wouldn’t be turned off until two or three in the morning.

But, when late May came, Richard could barely speak to Mason.

“That was the saddest part of the whole experience,” reflected Carol. “Richard adored that boy, then he almost went inside himself.”

Richard’s transition from bad to worse happened in what seemed like an instant. Carol and Rex left their home for a week-long vacation at the end of May. When they returned, Richard was suffering unbearable pain. It took the family forty-five minutes to transport him from his room to the car; he couldn’t stand to be touched.

It was then that they decided to turn to The Gathering Together, a decision that was especially tough on Carol.

“I’m mom,” she said, laughing in hindsight. “I should be the one taking care of him!”

However, Carol recognized that the pain Richard was experiencing transcended her ability to provide comfort for him.

Richard moved into The Gathering together on Saturday, May 31st, and his mother observed the staff and volunteers like a hawk, as Richard was immediately put on morphine. But, the care and atmosphere quickly put Carol and the rest of the family at ease.

“It felt like we were in our own home,” reminisced Richard’s stepfather, Rex. “I told [Carol], if I ever need hospice care, I want to go there!”

At the time of Richard’s visit, there was a volunteer named Abby working at The Gathering Together, and she would often visit Richard’s room, comforting him with her amiable presence and playing songs on her guitar to soothe him.

Richard passed away on Wednesday, June 4th, after saying his final goodbye to his son. Richard was 57 years old.

“I think Abby sang him right into heaven,” said Carol.

“It was beautiful,” added Carol. “He passed beautifully. I’m a believer that he would not have passed that beautifully in a nursing home or a hospital. God was just there. He was in the whole thing.”

Carol never imagined that she would have to face losing one of her own, beloved children, but the family’s experience at The Gathering Together, she said, made it acceptable.

Richard’s care at The Gathering Together was completely free——a fact that Carol affectionately labels as being a “tremendous blessing.”

As an act of continued gratitude and support, Carol recently organized a bake sale, enlisting the help of her friends and local groceries, and donated all of the proceeds to The Gathering Together.

“I would do anything to help [The Gathering Together],” she said. “Anything.”

Thank you, Carol, for sharing this story with us.

Here is another true story about one of our guests.

Meet Randy

His position as food service manager at St. Francis required him to work in the hospital's freezer. That was a perfect explanation for the dizzy spell, he thought. He was cold--but he was a hard-worker. He always had been, ever since he was a child running paper routes and working at the local McDonald's. A dizzy spell wasn't going to interrupt his work. The day was almost over anyway.

However, Randy didn't expect a similar dizzy spell a few weeks later to send him tumbling to the floor while he was at work. That cold winter afternoon shifted from typical to tragic in a matter of minutes. Randy couldn't escape the climate.

Randy's boss quickly ordered a few of his coworkers to rush him to the Emergency Room. By the end of the weekend, Randy was having emergency surgery to remove the rapidly-growing, often terminal brand of brain tumor that the doctors had just diagnosed him with: Gliobastoma. That diagnosis paired itself with an estimated three to six months to live.

The choice was fairly simple; he would stay with his parents, Don and Elaine. There, his family would be able to care for him. There, he could be comfortable.

After many difficult nights, the family began to realize that additional help might be necessary.

Randy, too, knew he was requiring a lot of assistance to get by. In one of the many late-night conversations with his sister Linda, he asked her to promise to take care of their parents.

He didn't realize that promise would need to be paid so soon. Neither did his parents. “We took care of him as long as we could, and we almost made it the whole way, just not all the way,” said Elaine.

Randy checked in to The Gathering together on July 26th, 2014, and his family was immediately comforted by the welcoming environment. The frequent offerings of drinks and dinners both surprised and delighted them.

“It was like we were part of the family,” reminisced Don.

Over his stay at The Gathering Together, there were 12 people packed into his room. There were no visiting restrictions like hospitals often impose--something Randy's family and friends greatly appreciated.

“It felt like an extension of what we were doing [at home]. The room had a bed for a family member, so I was right beside him,” said Linda. “It was such a supportive environment.”

Randy passed away on July 29th, 2014. He was 52 years old.

After Randy's passing, The Gathering Together suggested to Don and Elaine that, in lieu of flowers, friends and family showed their remembrance of Randy through monetary donations to The Gathering together. Many followed through with the request as a tribute to the wonderful care and comfort Randy experienced.

Referring to the support given to her parents, Linda remembered, "The Gathering Together made it possible for me to keep my promise to him." Plus, she added, "All you want [is] for [a loved one] to be as comfortable as possible.”

2015 is a step in the right direction for us

As we grow, our plan is to strategically invest in the following areas to create the most community impact.

We will invest in diversified care

  • to expand our network of bedside caregivers
  • to acquire necessary medical resources

We will invest in community education

  • to inform community partners of The Gathering Together’s mission
  • to teach the community about end of life care issues

We will invest in organizational support

  • to develop technology solutions for marketing and outreach
  • to create a system for managing data for funding opportunities
  • to better recruit and involve interested volunteers

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