Our Stories - Life is Precious

It is all about the Memories
Jay Pleimling

Jun, 2015

Christine Deland, Hospice at Home Registered Nurse, shared the following:

“Jay Pleimling is no longer able to leave his home and suffers from dementia.  Beckey, his wife, is his loving caregiver.  She wanted to celebrate his birthday, so celebrate we did!  

“You can’t have a birthday party without a cake, so the daughter of Laurel Gaudin, Hospice at Home Volunteer Coordinator, volunteered to bake a cake.    

“You can’t have a birthday party without people to help you celebrate – as his case manager, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Jay’s home health aide, Christina, and his massage therapist, Emma, also attended.

“You can’t have a birthday party without presents – Christina shopped for Beckey, and one of our volunteers dropped off a brightly-colored, hand-made blanket made by Hospice at Home volunteers.  

“You can’t have a birthday party without the birthday boy – Jay was awake and greeted us with his beautiful smile and bright blue eyes.  His face lit up with joy when he opened his Sponge Bob birthday card, blanket, and a small teddy bear.  

“Jay has not had much of an appetite for a while, but we wanted him to be able to do everything that is part of a birthday so we cut the cake and gave him a small piece.  He loved the small bit of cake, and even asked for more!  

“Jay’s birthday party was exactly what Beckey wanted for him – these personal, private moments of our patients’ lives help them build another memory.  It is sometimes the little moments of our lives that make life precious, that stay with us long after, that help us appreciate the time we do have together.  It’s all about the memories.”