While caring for her terminally ill husband, a loving mother and grandmother faced multiple challenges within her family. Hospice caregivers sustained her through troubling times.

"Bill had cancer of the esophagus. He was 61. He came home from Sloan Kettering after surgery last September feeling positive, just wanting to get better. We have six young adult children, and they were a real comfort to him.

VNACJ sent a nurse to take blood for the tests Bill needed. He seemed to improve, but in December a scan showed that the cancer was spreading. He was re-hospitalized in February and we were told then that his illness was terminal.

I knew when he came home from the hospital that I would need help, so I called the VNACJ Hospice. They sent JoAnn Jager to enroll Bill in hospice, and then Barbara Ketchledge, Bill's primary hospice nurse, arrived. Barbara understood my husband right from the beginning. She was kind and compassionate, and remained very upbeat because she knew that was what Bill needed. She was also a tremendous support for me. And I really needed support. Our daughter, Erin, was expecting a child in early March and our daughter, Megan, was hospitalized with a serious illness. There was a lot happening in our family, and Sara Ross, a hospice social worker, helped us sort it out. Especially, she helped us understand how to talk to our grandchildren about Bill's illness.

John McCarthy, Bill's home health aide, was a huge help, too. Bill really liked John. He came every weekday to bathe Bill and give him a massage. When we decided Bill needed to be moved to a hospital bed, John came on his day off to help us. That's the kind of person he is.

The hospice team gave me a lot of confidence, which I needed. When I called with questions, they called me back right away. And hospice took care of all the medication and equipment that Bill needed. Hospice sustained me through Bill's death on March 24, and through other issues facing our family. On the day of Bill's wake, our son Bill learned that he had been re-activated by the Marine Corps. Our newest grandchild, Elizabeth Anne, had been born on March 2, and was diagnosed with TEF-a tracheal, esophageal fistula-which meant she was aspirating fluid into her lungs and not receiving nourishment. Erin left Bill's funeral to accompany Elizabeth in the ambulance to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where, at the age of 3 / weeks, she had surgery to repair the fistula.

Elizabeth is fine now, and it was a real bright spot that Bill could see her before he died. My friends from hospice supported me through everything. It was a godsend to have hospice caregivers in our home. Telling others about how VNACJ helped me is simply my way of saying 'Thank you'."