Tweety Bird! (Hospice Story)

It seems to me that as we get older, birthdays come and go more quickly than ever. I wanted this birthday for Susan (name changed), my hospice patient who was having a long battle with cancer, to be one that she enjoyed and know that people love her and remembered her special day. I stopped by the local store and had them make a Tweety Bird singing birthday balloon. It wasn’t until I was driving to deliver this large balloon, that I realized what a loud and annoying gift this could be. With each and every tap on the roof of my car, off Tweety would go again; singing Happy Birthday again and again.

Upon arriving with the balloon at Denali Center, the Ward Clerk informed me that Susan was across the hospital at the Cancer Treatment Center at a doctor appointment. She was delighted to learn that it was Susan’s birthday. Rather than walk the hallways with the noisy balloon, I drove over to the doctor’s office and was brought back to the room where Susan and her devoted husband were.

This very shy, quiet, reserved woman had a sweet and surprised smile on her face and twinkle in her eyes when I wished her a happy birthday and delivered the balloon. I was concerned about her getting the noisy balloon back through the hallways to her room in Denali Center but she assured me that she could hang on to it as she was wheeled back after her appointment.

That evening, I visited Susan again to get a picture of her and the quilt that had been donated by area quilters, to Hospice of the Tanana Valley for our patients. What a good visit we had. She told me how the doctor and staff at the Cancer Treatment Center had gathered around in party hats, singing Happy Birthday. The staff at Denali Center brought warm wishes each time they came in her room, and her family sent even more balloon bouquets, flowers and loving wishes. She looked at me, and then her sister and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a birthday like this.”

In this work of Hospice of the Tanana Valley, we simply give small gifts of time, presence and caring (or large, noisy Tweety Bird balloons) and offer our friendship and service. You’ll often hear our staff and volunteers saying, “It’s about how you live.” It truly is - one day at a time.