In the words of their daughter, Sherry Tait…
Words will never do our gratitude justice. Eight months ago my life changed, we prepared to lose both of our parents. I can honestly say that I would not have made it through this journey without the amazing support our whānau received from the beautiful nurses at Hospice.
We had no idea of what was to come, I had never thought about what is involved with preparing someone in their final days, let alone two of the most important people in my life. Hospice came in and helped comfort and teach us how to care for our loved ones. Every nurse that came to our house was respectful of how we wanted to care for our parents, they understood and most of all embraced our tikanga and cultural values.
When Mum died, I thought I had to do everything. We had a plan ready but I couldn’t do it. Cathy (Hospice Nurse) stepped in because she knew I needed her to. She stayed with me until I was okay. She understood the cultural aspects like not leaving the body alone, I didn’t have to explain – she already knew.
When Dad was in his last days, Cecilia (Hospice Nurse) would offer to come and visit us. There were at least 30 people in the house and she would go around to every single one of them and mihi everyone. Her interpersonal skills were amazing. The whole whānau loved her. I honestly felt like she was my Nan, looking back now I realise that these small gestures of love and kindness are the moments I will hold on to forever. In our darkest hour, Hospice were the light that helped us through.
Sherry and her whānau donated three pictures to Rotorua Hospice which hang on our walls and are shown in the picture below. In a card, Sherry wrote:
- The purple drawing represents the Hospice and everyone involved with supporting not only our whānau, but also my friends mother Whaea Merania Pakinga.
- The blue and green drawing represents mum and dad joined together once again. Like a really sad love story.
- The green drawing represents our family and the depiction of all of you who cloaked us with support and love.
Rest in Peace – Denise Jenkins 07/10/1952 – 18/05/2018 and Tahae Tait 20/05/1950 – 25/06/2018
