Quite a Spectacular Day

Today (Tuesday) Susan, Terri, and I spent the entire day in Soweto. We had an amazing day. We began our morning with the Soweto nurses and community care workers. We had 27 people all together in one room. Terri facilitated the auto bio poem activity with them. We've done this activity previously with the leadership team and the clinical staff in Joburg. We learned a lot about each other. Some of us really like chocolate (what's not to like...). Others described themselves as loving caring people (they are). Many stated they want to be remembered as making a difference in other people's lives (absolutely no doubt about that).

After that activity they presented us with a lovely tea. Tea time is very important here. The staff brought in tea, coffee, and many different sandwiches-along with a tablecloth.  It was quite lovely.  After tea we each left to make home visits with a different sister. As a surprise to the three of us we all met at the shopping mall in Soweto for a late lunch together at Nando's!  David, Deb, and Gayle (the 2011 trip members who were introduced to Nando's together) are you jealous? The food was delicious.

My day was quite spectacular. I did something I've never done before... I was spending the day with Maria. She has been employed by Hospice Wits and working in Soweto for 27 years. She is an amazing nurse. She told me we were going to an NGO (non governmental organization) meeting. I figured we were meeting with other not for profit organizations. Maria said that someone from Hospice Wits had attended previous meetings. Well, when we got there and went inside Maria showed me the agenda. I saw that we were attending a meeting of the ANC Women's Auxiliary! The ANC is the ruling party of Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa. Needless to say I wasn't quite sure what to expect!  I must say it was an amazing meeting. The attendees are very respectful of the chairperson and everyone follows proper protocol. I think we could learn a thing or two from them about how to run a meeting. Anyhow the meeting was about encouraging women to stand up against substance abuse as most cases of violence against women (of which there is much) involves substance abuse. They will be marching peacefully to the police station to deliver a petition and then ending with a prayer service. Hospice Wits will participate. The chairperson said she was humbled to have someone from America at their meeting and directed some very nice comments to me. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

We will post additional blogs about our patient visits. I wish everyone could witness the amazing work this staff does.

Stacy

Excellence in Patient Care

Today I truly witnessed excellence in patient care. I know there is no way my words can truly describe what I saw today. I was struck by the depth of the patient's physical suffering  and the loving care the community care workers provided while working in a very compromised environment. Everything I am going to attempt to describe to you occurred in extreme heat (it's summer here), in extremely close quarters (we were in a very small shack), with the door closed-no ventilation.

 I had the distinct privilege of observing Maria and two of the amazing community care workers provide the most dignified and gentle care to a patient. This gentleman was 37 years old, paraplegic with AIDS and other ailments. These three staff visit him daily to provide wound care and daily dressing changes to the largest decubitus I've ever truly seen. This giant skin ulcer covered this gentleman's entire buttock region and then some. There were areas you could see muscle. Truly it was enormous. He also had other ulcers on the sides of both knees, calves, and the bottom of both heels.  Sorry to be so graphic but I think it's important you understand the nature of this man's suffering.

In extreme heat, with little space to move, these three remarkable caregivers moved around each other and gave their patient a bed bath, massaged his limbs, carefully removed yesterday's dressings, and then cleaned his wounds with saline solution they made themselves (they boiled water and added salt). They sprinkled vinegar to mask the smell and keep away the maggots he had in the wound previously. They then carefully placed powdered flagel on the skin ulcers.  After this, they placed gauze on the wounds, taped them to his skin, then placed larger gauze over that and then finally a diaper.  It was like watching poetry in motion or a carefully choreographed dance. This gentleman never flinched or cried out in pain. Finally they dressed him and placed him a wheelchair so he could sit outside.

All the while the community care workers were perspiring profusely. Eventually I took a beautiful scarf given to me by a good friend here that was tied on my purse and began wiping their faces. They were grateful for that small gesture.  I told them to keep the scarf and use it for the remainder of the day.  It was the least I could do.  The community care workers told me they were grateful someone was there to see them work and understand what they did. I don't think I've ever been so humbled.

Suncoast Hospice has remarkable staff also. Our staff provides excellent care in trying circumstances. I do not mean to imply otherwise.  I'm not sure that you can truly understand the depth of the need here until you see what I saw today, what I've witnessed my four trips here and what all our other staff who have visited our sister hospice have witnessed. 

The dollars we raise help Hospice Wits in innumerable ways. The supplies you donate are a gift they treasure. Everyone is grateful for our support. They are so proud to be our 'twin'.  I am proud to see them wearing our red Suncoast Hospice buttons.

Tomorrow we finish our support activities with the Soweto staff. We'll conduct a de-briefing meeting with the leadership team and have a final tea. We'll then leave for the airport and begin our long trip back home.

We look forward to sharing more of our stories and pictures with you. Consider inviting us to a teamwork department support.  Thank you for your support and encouragement. We have read all your comments. Knowing you're reading our blog has helped to keep us going.

With heartfelt thanks,

Stacy

A Little History and Reflection

Thank you to everyone who has posted comments to our blog. We are seeing them and sharing them with Hospice Wits staff. I wish I had enough time to respond to every comment.

We had a great weekend. Although we weren't visiting with patients we were still quite busy visiting three different museums so we could learn more about South African culture and the history of apartheid and the Black African struggle. I know Terri and Susan will share some of their thoughts with you on a further post. Even though I have been to these museums before I continue to learn more about what life was like for our colleagues. Keep in mind that apartheid didn't end until 1994. Only 19 years ago!  Monday is the anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from Robben Island where he was jailed for almost 30 years.

I must admit I often take much for granted in my life. Although I do express gratitude for what I have I do think that I expect my life will go in a certain direction and that my family will have access to so much - good healthcare, a warm and comfortable home, little fear of physical harm. I am humbled being here and being reminded the same is not true for all.  Today I learned that a good friend of mine, Nikiwe, had her house robbed at night as she and her family slept. All of her household appliances were stolen. Although that may be hard for us to understand this happens often here.

Monday we'll spend half the day with Penny, the only full time professional social worker at Hospice Wits. In the afternoon we'll visit the Hospice's daycare (or crèche-school) as they call it. I promise to take video and pictures and will post some more thoughts later in the day.

Until later,

Stacy

Today Was Spectacular

Today was spectacular. I mean truly spectacular. I am so proud of the team with me. Susan and Terri are doing a wonderful job sharing their many gifts of self with Hospice Wits staff.  It's going to be hard to put into words to describe how I feel about today. I know there will be more to share once I've had a chance to be still and think.  For now I'll tell you about our day. It's almost 5:30 pm in Jo-burg.

This morning we spent 4 hours with the management team. All 6 of their leaders committed to giving up half a day (on a Friday) to be with us.  We started with an activity led by Terri. We all completed an autobiographical poem about ourselves and then shared them with each other. I then led a discussion about leadership which culminated with each of the managers and CEO completed two different leadership questionnaires. Given the amount of trust in the room, the Hospice Wits staff began sharing some feelings regarding their own leadership strengths and leadership behaviors they'd like their colleagues to help them with.  Terri then ended our time together by facilitating a very heartwarming activity.  She will blog about this herself so I won't say more.  Just one hint... It involves each manager being 'pinned' by us. The pins are jigsaw puzzle pieces. We repeated this activity in the afternoon with all the staff on the Jo-burg campus and we'll repeat this activity in Soweto.  By the time we leave every paid employee will have a pin. I'm sending a few pictures for you to see.

After all the staff left Susan, Terri, and I stayed in the room to process the day and the week. We cried, laughed, and expressed gratitude to each other, our families, and you. This trip would not be possible without everyone's support.

So my heart is full. In fact it is brimming and overflowing with love right now. Tonight we're having dinner with the management team to celebrate our first work week here (please slow down time...). We understand we're being taken to an authentic South African restaurant. I heard someone mention worms...

Tomorrow is the weekend. We'll work on more posts so you'll have plenty to read Monday.

Until then,

Stacy

We made it to Johannesburg

Sisters wearing Care4Soweto and Suncoast Hospice buttons

Hi everyone!  We made it to Johannesburg.  Our flight was good and we enjoyed watching movies- good thing because none of us slept very well or very long.  So, here we are in Johannesburg, where the time zone is 7 hours ahead of Clearwater.  Even though we're pretty tired (and fairly silly from not sleeping much in the last two days), we're super excited about out first day.

We arrived at Hospice Wits around 9:00 in the morning, Tuesday (we left Tampa at 6 am Monday). The hospice had a nice welcoming breakfast for us and many staff stopped by to say hello.  Penny, Dorcus, Ntombi, and Bev (who were with us in October/November) came and were wearing their red Suncoast Hospice buttons!!

Jacqui Kaye and Stacy Orloff at Resale Shop

We toured a few of their Hospice Resale Shoppes and their beautiful campus in Johannesburg.  Then we went to our host homes so we cold unpack and relax before dinner.  We hope to sleep well tonight. 

We'll be in Soweto all day Wednesday.  Susan, Terri, and I will be providing a full day of education to the nursing sisters and community care workers.  We're very excited to spend the day learning together. 

Keep reading the blog and post comments.  Your comments help us to feel even more connected to you- plus I'll share them with the Hospice Wits staff too!

Until tomorrow,

Stacy

Hospice Wits, Here We Come

Left to Right: Terri Peterson, Stacy Orloff and Susan Bruno

Our next group of staffers is ready to embark on an exchange trip to Hospice Wits in Johannesburg, South Africa next week. Going are Suncoast Hospice’s Stacy Orloff, vice president of palliative care and community programs and Theresa “Terri” Peterson, a care team chaplain and Suncoast Hospice Institute’s Susan Bruno, director of institute business.

The three are excited for their two-week visit. Terri and Susan are first-timers and eager for this new learning experience. Stacy has made several trips and been involved a long time with our partnership. They’ll arrive bearing gifts, including much-needed medical supplies donated by Suncoast staff and volunteers.

During their visit, they’ll observe and work with Hospice Wits’ care staff and management team. This time there will be an even heavier focus on education. They plan to share resources, provide support and make presentations on interdisciplinary care teams, self-care, palliative arts, leadership development and more.

They can’t wait to get there and meet everyone. It’s going to be an incredible visit.

We are all created equal in the eyes of our higher power… but do we treat all equally?

Every day miracles happen in Johannesburg and Soweto. Some are small- others quite large.  In 1994 South Africa celebrated the end of an awful era in its country’s history- the end of apartheid. Only 15 years old, there is much to celebrate already.  When visiting patients in the Houghton area of Johannesburg I witnessed two such miracles.  Roxie and I spent the day with Annette Bruns, a nursing sister from the Houghton office.  Annette took us to visit Frieda, an elderly white woman and her husband Marco.  Along with many other ailments, Frieda was losing her eyesight and required much assistance with her activities of daily living.  Frieda and Marco had live in help, a young black African woman.  Unable to have their own children, Frieda and Marco have been quite generous to their assistant.  After their domestic had a child, Frieda and Marco welcomed this baby into their home.  The child is even Frieda’s namesake, and carries the name, Frieda.  I marveled watching Marco lovingly hold this black African baby, cooing to her, and acting in all ways as the baby’s grandfather.  What a miracle to see this blending of a white and black family in a country that only 15 years ago imprisoned black Africans for something as small as not having a correct passbook to move from one township to another. 

 

Tiny (the patient’s name- not the size of the miracle) is the second miracle Roxie and I witnessed.  Tiny was the longtime domestic for a white family.  She lived with the family for over 40 years, helping to raise the family’s children.  Over the last few years, both of the elderly caretakers died.  One of the caretaker’s adult daughters moved into the home and insisted that Tiny stay in the only home she’s known for over 40 of her 67 years of life.  Tiny helps to keep the home clean as best she can, often doing things because she wants to- not because the family expects her to.  As we visited with Tiny I couldn’t help but notice on the shelf behind the table we sat dozens of family pictures- all of them of white people.  Equally comfortable in this setting was small but mighty Tiny- an equal family member for over 40 years, living the rest of her life in the only loving home she’s known since she was an adult. 

 

I couldn’t help but thinking as I visited with these two families… how many of us in America have opened our homes and lives to someone who is different than us (in whatever way we see differences)?  Are we able to see the humanness and sameness of each of all? And, would or could we have done this so soon after the birth of our own civil rights movement?  Every day in South African people risked their lives to support the anti apartheid movement.  Today miracles occur each and every day.  May we learn to embrace these every day miracles and make them happen in our own community.

Stacy

Living in two worlds

I sit at my desk at home, writing this reflection.  It has been just about 24 hours since we touched down in Tampa.  It’s hard to believe that the two weeks with our sister hospice is over.  My heart and mind are struggling to ‘right’ themselves. My heart is joyful to be back home with my family and is full of the love for my African brothers and sisters. My mind is adjusting to the reality of being home- going through mail, emails, paying bills, etc and I continue to think about my African colleagues- wondering what they’re doing now and how this or that patient is. The reality, though, is that this trip is not really over.  It’s true that we’re no longer in South Africa, spending our days face to face with our African colleagues.  What is equally true is that today is just another day in the continuing and ongoing relationship with our sister hospice.  In 2000 our partnership began and today, May 18, 2009 is the beginning of the next phase of our relationship.  Today, alone, I have received two new emails from African colleagues and I noticed that I had received several emails from other colleagues while in South Africa.  I am so proud of the work that happens every day in Johannesburg and Soweto.  Great things happen each and every day.  We’ll be writing more about this great work during the coming weeks.  There are many stories yet to tell.  Please keep reading our blog.  There will be new postings frequently. Our South African colleagues are also joining our blog and will be sharing their stories.  And, as always, there is more work to do.  Your continued financial support will assist our sister hospice in doing its daily work. 

Keep in mind: Life in its passing is a sacred thing, never to be repeated. Let not a day pass in which we do not honor life's mystery or behold its wonder in our hearts.

Keep it small

written by Dr. Stacy Orloff

It’s easy to get overwhelmed… every where I look I see ‘big’.  Overwhelming poverty; too full hospital beds (sometimes with two children in one bed); a one room shack with no electricity or running water; a granny caring for her four year old grandson; an AIDS pandemic that has created thousands of orphaned children.

Then, I see small.  A pediatrician who knew there was a better way to care for children.  She began as a medical student picketing in front of the hospital advocating for ARVs for children.  She continued her advocacy and after much work now runs a very large and successful pediatric palliative care program. Her next step- moving to Cape Town to establish an academic pediatric palliative care program to teach pediatricians across South Africa.  I also saw a nurse who felt called to do something different with her life and started caring for one person infected with HIV who now can proudly ‘show off’ the program she started; a hospice program for HIV positive children. This residential program cares for 240 orphaned HIV + children, allowing them to live there until adulthood.  I also saw hospice nursing sisters and community care workers who, every day, visit their patients, giving them food, medicine, and love.  Their visits do more than just provide food and medicine.  I have personally seen hospice patients regain their sense of hope and feeling of worth because of the love given to them; equally I have seen the nursing sister and community care worker ‘filled up’ again because of the love given to them by their patient.

So, what have I learned?  Not to focus on the big- I can’t make the whole problem go away.  I can make a piece of it better.  So, for my remaining days here I am committed to keeping it small.  I can do that.

Stacy