Whether it\u2019s a wedding chapel in Vegas, a zoo, a winery or an art gallery, people choose to exchange their marriage vows in places that hold a special meaning to them.\u00a0 Since getting married is a significant life experience, most people care much more about whom they share that experience with rather than where it takes place.\u00a0 That is why one couple in Sheboygan Falls recently held their ceremony at the Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice.*<\/p>\n
The young couple had big plans for a wedding in August, but when they learned the bride\u2019s mother wouldn\u2019t live long enough to see it they decided to make changes.\u00a0 While working with their church on a plan for a ceremony in the hospice gardens, the mother experienced a sharp decline in health.\u00a0 With little time to plan and emotions running high, the hospice team jumped in to support the family’s wishes.<\/p>\n
Lisa Semple, Assistant Administrator, led the effort to involve all available staff. Sara Weber, the Administrative Assistant, turned the board room into a banquet hall, adorning the tables with candles, rose petals, and handmade Mr.\u00a0 & Mrs. decorations. Pat Semple, the Dining Services Manager, and Mary Sippel, Dining Services Cook, brought in linens and china and prepared a special meal. They worked late into the evening to ensure the family\u2019s dining needs were met.<\/p>\n
Nurses picked fresh flowers from the Hospice gardens to bring the outdoors in. Brenda Weavers, Volunteer Coordinator, quickly called her volunteer musicians to see who was available.\u00a0 Jim Wilsing, a seasoned hospice volunteer, graciously came and played his hand-carved Native American flute.\u00a0 The family enjoyed the spiritually soothing sounds.\u00a0 Rick\u2019s House of Flowers in Sheboygan Falls expeditiously created floral arrangements, including a bridal bouquet, and delivered them. Meanwhile, Lisa Falk, Social Worker, tended to the family\u2019s needs.\u00a0 Pastor Marianne Brandt, Spiritual Care and Bereavement Coordinator, counseled the family and remained on standby to officiate the ceremony if necessary.<\/p>\n
A Catholic priest officiated the ceremony in the mother\u2019s hospice room. Semple and Falk stood by the door to maintain privacy for the family.\u00a0 The patient\u2019s son and husband stood on either side of her bed holding her hands as they watched the stunning couple unite in marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHospice care is a team approach to enhancing the quality of life for the patient and the family,\u201d said Semple.\u00a0 \u201cOur motto at Sharon S. Richardson is Caring for Our Community. Today we did that in an extraordinary way that was so rewarding for all of us involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
This isn’t the first special family event the Hospice has hosted.\u00a0 In 2014, a couple renewed their wedding vows in the gardens.\u00a0 Other families have celebrated anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays in the hospice center.<\/p>\n
The money for the small purchases that were required to make the day special came from the Irish Brotherhood\u2019s Bo\u2019s Freedom Run Fund.\u00a0 The Irish Brotherhood established this \u201cpay-it-forward\u201d fund a few years ago after one of their members experienced hospice care at Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice.\u00a0 \u201cWe were really impressed with how Sharon Richardson took care of people whether they could afford it or not,\u201d said Jim Gleason of the Irish Brotherhood.\u00a0 \u201cHelping people without expecting anything in return is the Irish tradition.\u00a0 After all the hospice did for our brother, we wanted to pay it forward.\u201d\u00a0 The Irish Brotherhood hosts an annual poker run to raise money for family members of hospice patients who are facing hardships and need a little assistance during their time in hospice.<\/p>\n
The bride sent a thank you note to the hospice team that read, \u201cA special thank you to all of you for seeing my mother and my family through the final days of her incredible life.\u00a0 She arrived, said she loved it, and relaxed for the first time in two years from a heroic battle with cancer\u2026My mother deserved a special place that would give her peace.\u00a0 Thank you for providing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regardless of where you hold your wedding ceremony or where you take your last breath, it is the people who are there with you and the way they care for you that make the experience beautiful.<\/p>\n
(*The bride and groom wish to remain anonymous at this time.)<\/em> Whether it\u2019s a wedding chapel in Vegas, a zoo, a winery or an art gallery, people choose to exchange their marriage vows in places that hold a special meaning to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsiteomg.com\/ssrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAngelia Neumann is the Director of Development & Communications for the Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"