A Passion for Art at Any Age

A Passion for Art at Any Age

by Sheila Palmer, Volunteer with Kansas City Hospice

When you volunteer in hospice, you so often meet really interesting people. I have been visiting a wonderful 96-year-old named Nina who is pretty remarkable. Nina’s passion used to be reading, but four years ago she realized it was getting harder to concentrate and retain what she was reading. She wasn’t about to sit around and watch TV when she had to give up her beloved books.

Nina’s daughter bought a couple of adult coloring books to see if her Mom might be interested in them. She was looking for something to help Nina pass her time since she couldn’t read anymore. Nina had always been creative and her new hobby took off. She hasn’t missed a day of sitting in her favorite chair with her “workshop” set up around her.

Nina can focus for hours creating beautiful pictures. She loves using bright colors. And, the more detailed the picture, the better. She has framed some of her pictures and given them as gifts to her family, signing each with her initials and a ♥️U.

Nina enjoys sharing her pictures with visitors. It’s such a joy to spend some time with her and she loves to show her completed coloring books. Nina loves coloring just about as much as she loves a bowl of vanilla ice cream!

Volunteers provide companionship and more

I’ve been volunteering with Kansas City Hospice for more than 15 years because I feel it’s important to help people “live” until their life journey ends. Providing respite, companionship, and running errands certainly helps terminally ill patient’s and their families but I have found that providing a listening presence can be a volunteer’s most important role.

So many people ask me how I can deal with death all the time. But, it’s not about death, you see. It’s about life. It’s about enjoying the time you have. When I visit with hospice patients, I get so much more than I ever expected. My life has been touched in so many ways and I love volunteering.

Sound interesting? There’s a volunteer training coming up very soon. The training gives you all the skills you need to help families with your presence and you meet so many people. Call 816.363.2600 and ask for Volunteer Services! Or check out the Volunteer section of our website.

The mission of Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is to bring expert care, peace of mind, comfort, guidance, and hope to people who are affected by life-limiting illness or by grief. And, our vision: each person in our community is valued from life through death and each family is supported in their grief.