What It’s Like to Be an Anning Volunteer
Questions Every Anning Volunteer Will Be Asked
It was a sunny weekend, and the sun at ten o’clock in the morning, like usual, penetrated the blinds of the hospital conference room on time and reflected on the table. The long strip of light and shadow cuts time into countless small units, as if reminding that every inch of time here is worth cherishing.
Today is the farewell ceremony of “Lady Sunshine”. Anning volunteers went to the meeting room to set up the venue early in the morning. The pink balloons floated gently around. A partner who was good at drawing wrote in the middle of the whiteboard: Sunshine Lady’s goodbye meeting, and there are many little hearts around ,little stars. The projector showed a review of her life: the sunny smile before the illness, her husband shaved her hair for chemotherapy during the illness, which symbolizes all new life… The good battle has been fought, and she turned to peace exhausted, and expressed her gratitude to her family , Friends, thank you, love, and goodbye. Even though similar stories often happen in hospice wards, many volunteers still cannot hide their sadness when they see the patients they have assisted in taking care of are approaching the end of their lives.
It is especially important to comfort and support each other, and to catch the painful emotions in time. I think this is also the reason why An Ning’s partners can easily establish “revolutionary emotions”. But there are also volunteers who have internalized emotions into a kind of strength, which is love and respect for life, and I belong to the latter. These abilities are learned through training and practice courses, so the first requirement to be an Anning volunteer is to have the spirit of living and learning.
“Are hospice wards expensive? Why do you become a hospice volunteer? What do hospice volunteers do? Have you ever encountered a supernatural event?” This is a question almost every volunteer will be asked. Hospice wards are the same as other wards. There are health insurance rooms, double rooms, and single rooms, and the prices are the same. It is not because hospice wards are particularly expensive.
The reason why I became an Anning volunteer was when my mother was hospitalized a few years ago. I pushed her to take a walk in the corridor. As I walked, I came to a sign on the wall that said “An Ning Ward”. My intuition told me that this should be An Ning In the ward, I saw several volunteers pushing the patient to the bathroom on the bath bed. My mother suddenly told me that she has used a lot of medical resources in the past few years of illness, and she probably has no chance to give back, but she hopes that I can volunteer in the hospital in the future, and it is the kind that can really serve patients and their families… for half a year Finally, I put on the vest of a volunteer and practiced what my mother told me. The reasons for other partners to come here are some because of religious beliefs, some want to know the truth of death, and some claim to have yin and yang eyes and want to come here to comfort every sad spirit.
It is true that a small number of partners have “superpowers”
The service content of Anning volunteers begins with serving tea from house to bed. If the nursing station needs it, we also assist patients with non-medical tasks such as bathing, turning over, and massage. Occasionally, we also assist nurses to help patients clean body, but mainly to accompany and listen.
I often learn some things in the company that I can’t learn in the training courses. For example, I once accompanied a female patient who was “alone” most of the time. Her main caregiver was her younger sister, but the younger sister had to go to work during the day and could only come from get off work. That day, I went to accompany her, and when she saw me, she cried and said, “I’m alone, and I’m scared…” I said to her, “I’m also alone, so now we add up to two people!” She held my hand tightly, and I promised to stay until her sister came, so she closed her eyes and rested at ease, and I also waited until her sister came as promised before leaving. It is said that she did not wake up that day.
I am very glad that in the last company, I not only saw that she did not “have an accident”, but also relieved her fear, allowing her to go to the other shore with a smile. Because of this patient, I realized that whether it is one person or two people, we must first strengthen ourselves in terms of mentality. It is good to have someone to accompany us. Fear is absolute hell.
“Have you ever encountered a supernatural event in the hospice?” This is really an interesting question. It is true that a small number of partners have “superpowers”. Some of them can “see” a shadow in a certain part when massaging a patient, and that part happens to be the lesion. Some partners can “hear” sounds that do not belong to this space. According to the description, it is like the sound of wind. The partner’s explanation is that it should be a group of relatives and friends from the underworld visiting the patient together, and there is a gust of air when they are dispatched. When I enter the ward, I will smell the smell that does not exist in the space, such as the smell of burning paper money, or the smell of sandalwood, and sometimes the smell of lilies. No matter what the meaning of these smells is, I wish the patients and their families to stay away from distress, Peace of mind.
I have entered the fifth year of service in Anning. Compared with other partners, I am very junior. In the past five years, the patients and their families have personally taught me with tears how useless all “knowledge” is here, and how dumb all the chicken soup for the soul is. Only by making good use of every moment of healthy living, let the one you love People know how much you love him, and cherish those who love you. You must love yourself well and take care of your body and mind, only then can you be able to accompany every unextinguished dim light.
