These were the words remembered and shared with the Hospice East Rand Sister who indeed some 18 yrs previously had had the privileged task of reading  letters from children in Australia who wanted to say farewell to their Dad !

Aunty Elsa in the years since has become everyone’s “Aunty “. How else can you address a Grande Dame of stature that equals her 95 yrs.

Spending time with her in recent days was awe-inspiring to say the least! Her mental acuity and all other abilities as a nonagenarian she attributes to her Lord Jesus!  Aunty Elsa has espoused the Christian faith and been a Christ follower for as long as she can remember! No one coming into her presence can help being captured by the vitality of that personal faith – it just exudes from every pore in her body!

Her memories of the experience with Hospice East Rand as an organisation are very positive! Her daughter recalled the feedback relayed from her mom following each of the Nursing Sister’s visits! Having no interface with the Sister the feedback was important to her, even more so, as she herself was a qualified Nursing Sister. She shared what a relief it was to know and witness her moms confidence in the sister and the services of Hospice East Rand and as she described mom gained strength from each visit .

Aunty Elsa had tremendous support from her church community but still she said she valued greatly the time spent by the Hospice Sister who never seemed to be in a hurry! She and Basil appreciated the words of advice, as well as the physical and emotional support.

A shared experience as exists with the Hospice / family interplay often transcends the limitations of that interaction and becomes the foundation of a symbiotic relationship that becomes a lifelong privilege. That has certainly been the experience of this Hospice Sister.