Date: 2003-02-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Someone asked me if this info was on my website yet, no, it wasn't. I was waiting until it felt right, and I guess now is the time.I talked to 300 people at a county club the day before yesterday. Hospice was sponsoring a bereavement program, and they wanted to trot me out first for a few words about my hike.The local Hospice is using my hike as a fund-raiser. Hospice is a really great group, a non-profit organization that helps terminally ill people die in their own homes; it provides all kinds of badly needed medical and emotional support to patients and families. The people are incredible, full of heart.My mom, Mary Leitschuh, LOVED Hospice. She was a 20-year volunteer in her retirement community of Polk county, NC. She really got into it, and always fell in love with her patients. I used to wonder "How could she DO that?" How could she connect with these dying people on that deep level, only to lose them in the end? How could she open herself up again and again - to all that pain?I didn't know then that is the only way to really live; To love wide open, and to accept the pain too. To not always live defensively, in the trenches of the heart.When mom was sick in the hospital, I had to do some pretty tough things to help her. And I learned: I can do this. Not only that, in this very intimate and sacred (I don't know any other word for it, and I'm not religious) care, there was a transmission: Her love of Hospice sparked a desire to be of service in me.I joined FirstHealth Hospice a few years ago, and it has enrichedme beyond measure. Dying people are the Real Deal. There is generally little, if any, BS. There's usually minimal ego - our "survival" mechanism, our distancing mechanism. After all, dying people KNOW they are not surviving, so why pretend anything? Mostly, they just want to hold your hand, talk if they can, look you in the eye.I never realized how much that clear connection would feed me. Being gone on the AT for six long months, I knew I would miss it.So offering my hike to Hospice as a fundraiser helps me keep that connection.But, it's not just hiking, they want you to talk too! I was nervous about speaking to all these folks, in a country club no less. I've been out of that scene so long I didn't know if I would remember how to dress, LOL. I teach horse clinics often and am never nervous, so I wondered about this. I was taking this speech thing a little too seriously.Good friends Steve, Carolyn, Kevin, Douglas and Paul were there for moral support. And, it went great! I slung on my backpack and carried it up to the podium. As soon as I stepped up there, the talk of the hike just flowed out. They even laughed at my jokes.Ha!Well, here's the pitch, I'll only say it once: If you are enjoying this journal, consider a small donation or pledge to Hospice. A penny a mile is a little over $20, and I know I've paid that much for a good book (and some bad books too!). Just e-mailyour name, address and phone number and pledge amount to Carol White at cwhite@firsthealth.org They'll take it from there. They'll also post your name on their website.Every time I update my journal Hospice will send you a notice and this link. Just indicate on your e-mail to Carol whether you want the e-mail update notice, and include your e-address. By the way, every single penny will go to direct patient care. This was very important to me. Your dollars might go to buy the morphine needed to dull the pain of cancer, a hospital bed at home or nursing services to relieve overworked family members. Your donations will not pay for administrative salaries.People often think of organizations like Hospice or the very natural act of death as something morbid, but really, they are handy reminders to live a joyful, thoughtful, congruent life.So I hike the AT for me, yes. But also as a celebration of Mary Leitschuh's life, and the gift of her life that still flows through me.<