Somewhat belatedly, I read the Donna Jones pieces, ’A service beyond price’ and ‘Love, loss and a haven’ (Gympie Today, Friday 11 July) and was touched and reminded yet again how invaluable to our community is Little Haven Palliative Care.
The story of the passing of Donna’s mother in the caring hands of Little Haven nurses is no doubt typical of what has happened for countless local families over the years.
It is a story of understanding, compassion, and sympathetic management of life’s greatest challenge— approaching death.
And I was moved by the story of the ‘Brave Little Hollander’ (to borrow a title from a Queensland School Reader, which few of you will remember), Lenie Carswell.
In recalling her beloved husband Trevor’s passing, her comments captured the essence of Little Haven’s purpose and performance:
‘We were blessed with the help of Little Haven and we realised that we couldn’t have been able to carry out Trev’s wish of dying at home comfortably without them.’
And she spoke for me and I suspect for many others when she said, ‘It’s easier to live than to die’.
Little Haven obviously eases the pain, not only for the dying, but for those who love them.
How blessed we are in Gympie to have this wonderful organisation in our midst!
– Merv Welch,
The Palms
