“I Really Have Loved the 22 Years I’ve Spent Here”

My journey with Galway Hospice

I started at Galway Hospice in August 2004, and I’ve spent 22 years working as a Hospice Homecare Nurse.

When I first applied, it was actually for a position in the Inpatient Unit. But the Director of Nursing asked if I would mind going into Home Care for about six months. And 22 years later, here I am! I think Home Care was always what I wanted.

At that stage, things were very different. There were eight of us. We were caring for about 100 patients. I remember when that number was approaching 120, we were all thinking, “Oh, we’ll never manage this!” And look at us now. We care for more than 1,000 patients at home every year. It’s incredible to see how much Galway Hospice has grown.

Palliative care is hope

When I started, palliative care very much meant just end of life. People had that perception in Ireland. There’s still maybe a little bit of it, but I think it’s changed hugely. Palliative care now is hope.

Our mission statement is that people live their best life, whatever that is, for as long as possible. For me, that’s one of the great changes in palliative care: that you can help somebody achieve little goals.

I think people are often surprised when they discover what hospice care is really like. I was talking to a teacher who had a Junior Cert group doing a project. One of the young lads said he’d love to do it on the Hospice. The teacher thought it might be difficult, because his mum was a home care patient at the time. But in the end, they went ahead with the project.

They got such hope from seeing the work we do. And they were saying, “But there was nobody crying.”

I think they thought everyone was going to be in agony, and they couldn’t believe the kind of joy around the place. When you can give people that sense of hope, for whatever small purpose it is, it’s just wonderful.

The privilege of being welcomed into people’s homes

Going out to the houses is wonderful. You meet such characters as well.

I couldn’t count the number of times people have said to me, “I don’t know how you do your job, it must be very difficult.”

What they don’t realise is how rewarding it is to be valued, to be accepted by a family who may be at a low ebb, and to be wholeheartedly trusted by them.

Helping people in the familiar surroundings of their own home is so rewarding and has definitely helped me grow as a person.

I’ve often said, a lot of times it’s just giving families and carers the confidence to carry on doing what they’re already doing, reassuring them that they’re doing the right thing for their loved one, and helping them on that journey.

It’s such a privilege to go in, to be allowed into a patient’s house and to be accepted. You’re almost like, in a very small way, part of that family for that period of time.

They look on us as the professionals, expecting us to tell them what to do. But generally, they’re doing the right thing anyway. It’s just support.

Of course, you have all of the symptom management part of it, but it’s also about being an advocate for them in that decision-making process. To help them talk things through, not to make the decision for them, but to let them make that decision.

It’s not our journey, it’s their journey

I think an ability to listen and not to go into a house with preconceived ideas is so important.

You can explain to people what you feel would be the best thing for them, but not in a forceful way. It’s their home. They have to make their choices.

Maybe they’re not the choices we feel would be the most suitable, but it’s what they want, and we support them in that.

They’re front and centre of the journey. It’s not our journey, it’s their journey.

We have to listen. I think that’s the most important.

What 22 years of hospice care have taught me

Over those 22 years, I’ve grown so much, both from being with the patients and being with the team.

You get a great understanding of life. You realise what the true values of life are. You realise that your family and your friends are everything in life, and your health. It was a great old adage at home, “Your health is your wealth.” When you’re young, you don’t really understand that, but it’s so important.

I think spiritually I’ve grown as well. Whatever religion you are, it doesn’t really matter. It’s about having that inner strength to deal with situations.

The people who made it all possible

I don’t think I could emphasise the teamwork enough. And I don’t mean that in just Home Care, I mean the Hospice as a whole team. I couldn’t have done the job I did without them. They’re incredible.

I think palliative care draws a certain type of person to it. We all have our ups and downs, but in essence, people are just so good. Even walking in today, it’s just such a lovely feeling.

It’s a testament to Home Care that rarely somebody leaves. In general, if people are staying in Galway and they get into a job in Home Care, they stay because they love it.

They love this camaraderie and support you get within the team.

Looking back, and looking forward

I think we’ve achieved so much. We’ve grown in the amount of people that we can actually see.

The positivity we get back from patient feedback, and even in terms of fundraising and the walks, the amount of people that come to those events shows the appreciation people have for the work we do in the community.

And after 22 years, it’s time for a new chapter. As for retirement plans, I haven’t got that far yet!

We definitely want to do another big trip. We’ve talked about all sorts of adventures. I still feel I’m on holidays. I have a pile of books I need to read, and I’m trying to teach myself not to feel guilty about just sitting down and reading a paper or a book.

I really have loved the 22 years I’ve spent here.

Jane Fitzgerald

Recently retired Galway Hospice Homecare Nurse