“Volunteering for Hospice has been a blessing to me and it has helped me through my own challenges and losses.” This is just one way that Sharon Carr describes how being a Family Care Giver has affected her life. “To help a person stay comfortable in their own home, to know that a family is doing as well as they can because they can all stay together during such a difficult time is so important. It means so much to me that I can play whatever part I am able to for that to happen.”
Sharon is a lifelong resident of Central New York, born in Syracuse, having called Fulton home for close to 50 years. Long possessed of a spirit called to helping others, and having been very involved with varied church activities, she began a new path when she saw a pamphlet for Oswego County Hospice back in 2009.
“I had never had any experience with Hospice prior to then. But I thought about what a family going through that end-of-life experience must be going through, and what sort of help they might need. That motivated me to reach out and soon I was going through the training.”
Serving as a Family Care Giver has been a very meaningful experience for Sharon. “Often, I will sit with a patient, and just talk with them or read to them. Sometimes we will just sit and share silence together, but it is being in the presence of another that is so often just what is needed.” However, it is the care and assistance that she can give to
the patient’s primary caregiver that she feels can have some of the biggest positive effect. “It isn’t always easy to walk into a stranger’s home, and not all family situations are the same. But when I am there, they know that they can have a little bit of relief, because they know that I am there to take care of their loved one. Sometimes they can feel that they are being neglectful if they take time for themselves away from their loved one, from the person they vowed to care for. But caregivers need to take care of themselves, too. And when I am there, it is a chance for them to have some time to themselves, for whatever purpose.”
After Oswego County Hospice closed their doors last year, instead of ceasing her volunteering efforts, Sharon reached out to Michele Devlin, our Volunteer Coordinator, about bringing her long years of experience as a Family Care Giver to us. We are very grateful that Sharon decided to further her work, now with us, and is still continuing to serve so many families in the Oswego County area.
When asked what she would say to someone considering the possibility of volunteering for Hospice, she said, “Not all people who go through Hospice have a family that has the ability to help them through this difficult time of life. While this sort of volunteering can feel difficult at times, it is such a rewarding thing to be able to be in the presence of a family in need and to know that you can be of help. It’s not for everybody, and I understand that. But I can tell you that it has given me a better perspective on understanding my own challenges and losses, and it has helped me to see positivity where I wouldn’t have seen it before.”
We are so grateful to Sharon for sharing her giving spirit with us, and with the
families she serves through Hospice!
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