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 Hi.
My name is Cathy and I've been a part of Heeling Friends since
2000. I visit with my two Australian Shepherds, Boomer (left)
and Poudre (right) a minimum of four times a month.
I typically visit at the Yampa Valley Medical Center (the hospital)
and The Doak Walker Extended Care Center. In the hospital,
I am welcome in all waiting areas and lobbies, patient rooms,
the emergency room (depending on the situation), physical
therapy and the special procedures area (chemotherapy etc).
Patients and staff alike, welcome us if only for a few minutes to bring a bright spot to a stressful day.
I'd like to share a couple of recent highlights, which I
hope will help you to understand why I love, support and enjoy
this program.
A Little Girl
The first occurred on the 4 th of July. Boomer and I were
leaving after a rather quiet day though the emergency room
lobby. There was a 3 year old girl with her father in consultation
with nurse. She looked out and saw Boomer, her eyes lit up
and she looked up at her dad. I put Bommer in a down position
and had him rollover on his side. She asked "Is he sick?"
My reply was "he came to see you."
She sat down and immediate stared to pet and hug Boomer. During this time the nurse is checking her vitals and listening to her chest. Never a peep!! (Amazing how a dog can take the fear away.) The ER Nurse comes to take her back to E.R. and I ask if she would like Boomer to show her the way. Of course, she takes the leash. (I have the other end for safety.) When we arrive she reaches over and gives Boomer a huge kiss and hug. Then kisses her palm and gently touches my cheek. As we leave the ER, I hear start to whimper and I know Boomer and I made a difference.
A Happy Woman
The second experience I’d like to share occurred very
recently. I was visiting with Poudre on the patient floor
when the staff asked me if I would mind sitting with a young
woman of 89 years. Of course I would not mind was my reply.
After visiting with her for a while, I checked with the nurses
and we went for a walk outside. While we were walking it started
to sprinkle. She reached up patted her head and said AHHH!
with the biggest smile. Later during the walk, she paused
and waved her right arm around and then her left. She then
proceeded to swing one leg the, the other for a moment. This
time she turned to me and with a smile that could change the
world she said "Honey, sometimes you just got to stop
and shake it!" Oh how true that is!!!
Although no two days or visits are ever the same, I hope you
can understand what joy and relief our PetPartners teams can
do.
Back to the Top
Bob's Story
I was visiting at the Doak with my HF partner before our
Heeling Friends Holiday party. We were sitting on the bench
near the fire place when a woman who was a courier and who
I had not met before came by to deliver some packages to the
Doak. She stopped to pet me and then began telling us about
some very sad things that had happened in her life recently.
We listened and then the woman went on her way.
A few weeks later while my HF Partner was working in the hospital
as an Aide, she went into a room at the beginning of the shift
to introduce herself to a patient. She didn't recognize her
at first but it was the woman that we had met at the Doak
and she recognized her as Bob's "mom". They chatted
about our dogs for awhile and she told her that coincidently,
I (Bob) was scheduled for a Heeling Friends visit the next
day. When she came in to work the next day this person wanted
my HF partner to make sure that Bob (me in person) came to
see her. She also asked if she could keep Bob's Heeling Friends
picture (the one in the hallway) on her bedside table for
the day. My HF Partner brought her the picture and later that
day after work, we came back as Heeling Friends volunteers.
When my HF partner came back to work on the third day, this
patient was getting ready to be discharged. She said that
she was ready for her to hang Bob's picture back up on the
wall in the hall. After she left, my HF partner went back
into the room to clean and strip it.
This is the letter that she had left us on her bedside table:
Dear Friend and Bob,
I know if it were not for you and Bob I would have died. God
Bless your smiles (Bob's too). Good luck with school - you
are already a great nurse and spirit healer.
Love, _______________"
We were very touched by this note and have kept it on our
desk since.
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 YAMPA,
the Heeling Friends CAT
Moments of Wonder
While Yampa was at the hospital, she visited a gentleman who
said he was not really a cat person but asked us to visit
anyway. He and his wife were just watching TV. I laid Yampa
down beside him and he started petting her. While we were
talking, his wife spoke up and said, "Look - your blood pressure
just went down". The gentleman was hooked up to a monitor
and she was watching the monitor!! During another visit….Yampa
visited a lady that had just had back surgery. We were a bit
hesitant to go in because she was very loud and sounded like
she was in pain. After visiting other patients, a Nurse asked
if we would go in and try to get her to relax. I went in,
talked with her for a while and asked if she would like to
have Yampa lay beside her. I very gently placed Yampa along
side her, took her hand and assisted with the petting of Yampa.
After awhile she started to dose off and relax. The Doctor
came in. I started to leave but he asked that we stay for
a while longer. After the Doctor left, I continued to assist
her in petting Yampa. By the time we left, she was sleeping
peacefully.
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