‘A lot of laughter by the guests’
They are regularly confronted with the prejudices who rule there. Anka: “We are experiencing many beautiful moments. People are surprised when I say that there is a lot of laughter. Through the guests themselves, but also by the family members. We often hear from people who come here: how nice and homely it feels here. That is also the intention.”
Armèl has been working at Dignitas since 2007, as coordinator Hospicezorg and as a nurse. “We live very intensely here,” she says in the family room of the Hospice. There is one every day. “Sometimes it is already two to twelve before a guest arrives here. Here we talk about a deathbed, instead of a sickbed.”
‘Deathbed is almost skipped’
That is a big difference with the hospital, she explains. “Nowadays there is much longer treatment, so that the deathbed is almost skipped. That is why people here are generally less than before.”
Of course there are enough difficult moments. Because in a hospice you know one thing for sure as a guest: you will not get better. “On the second day of my internship I walked into a room and saw that the guest had died. I was shocked and became emotional. Now I can deal with that better, that also has to do with habituation.”
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