Hello, my name is Marja. My family (husband and our 3 children) emigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1988. Shortly after arriving we welcomed our fourth child; life in Canada has been good to us. With four kids and our own agriculture business, it was always a busy and exciting time for us. Now our children are grown, married and have children of their own. We have 9 amazing grandchildren between the ages of 1 and 9 years old. They are so much fun!
In May 2007, my Dad, in the Netherlands, died. For me, that was the beginning of something that I did not really understand before: grief. It was a hard road for me and living so far away did not make it any easier. By this time all our children had moved out of the house and I felt kind of lost. Then I saw an ad in the paper for Chilliwack Hospice Society; I went for a visit and later I signed up to take the Hospice volunteer training. Soon after, I started to volunteer at the hospice on a regular basis. Cascade Hospice was always such a good place to be. The hospice is not a hospital. Volunteers are there for the patient, and sometimes even more so for the family of a patient, and it is such a privilege. To be able to help people in hospice, to make dying and death a little less scary, to give people a feeling of home and a sense of normalcy during a difficult time is something I care deeply about. I always feel honoured to sit with people and talk with them, supporting them along their journey.
Another part of the work I do is with the vigil team. Having someone available to come and sit in a vigil for a loved one is very comforting for families, knowing that there is someone watching over their loved one when they cannot be there themselves.
Sometimes life throws curveballs – my husband had cancer and it was too challenging for me to be at hospice while I was facing cancer at home as well. Then when my mother died, I needed time away to do my grieving for her as well. Now that my husband is well, I am happy to be back at Cascade Hospice helping again. And of course, we have lots of babysitting and playdates with our grandchildren, which we love to do! We are blessed to have many people around who care for us and support us. I know that is not how it is for many people, and that is one more reason why I love going to the hospice. I love to be able to give of my time and help others.
Everyone who works and volunteers with Cascade Hospice is awesome; they all support and care for one another. We meet on a regular basis and we share and talk about our lives, about Hospice, and about the work that we do there. Being part of The Chilliwack Hospice Society is an important part of my life, and volunteering at Cascade Hospice feels right and good.
