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| Home > Healthy People > April 2002 |
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April - June, 2002 |
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For the love of Lollie
Fordland family jumps in feet-first to help 92-year-old
great-grandmother and the hospice program that supports her
Lollie Tedder's family (left to right) Cindy Craig, Sarah Craig, Evelyn Mitchell and Katie Craig, have decided to give something back to St. John's HospiceCare.
Lollie Tedder snuggles with the teddy bear she named after HospiceCare chaplain Charlie Shutz.
Seventh-grader Sarah Craig decorates a box to hold teddy bears during a school "bear drive" for HospiceCare.
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Lula "Lollie" Tedder has spent most of her 92 years working and helping other people. A Texas native, she dished food and gossip in local diners and country clubs at various locations in the Texas panhandle until her late 80s.
"She was in really good shape," says granddaughter Cindy Craig. "She lived in the same house in Texas for many years and was never sick. She had only been in the hospital once in her whole life until last year."
Tedder was diagnosed with congestive heart failure a year ago February. She had noticed weakness in the knees and tired easily, but didn't seek medical attention until she took a tumble in her kitchen.
Congestive heart failure occurs when any of the chambers of the heart lose their ability to keep up with the amount of blood flow. It is a serious condition because it has no cure and can only be managed through medications and a healthy lifestyle, says St. John's Cardiovascular Services' Steve Allyn, M.D., Tedder's cardiologist. CHF leaves people like Tedder, feeling weak and many times unable to live independently.
That's why she depends on her granddaughter and daughter to help her through her days at her Fordland home.
"I think she's better with it than we are," says Craig. "It's so hard for her to be up and around and she's pretty practical. She understands if this is the way it has to be, then that's that."
The transition from being a physically active senior citizen to a bedridden one was hard for Tedder. St. John's HospiceCare chaplain Charley Shutz says he has worked with her to accept the changes she's faced with and provide spiritual support on her journey.
"When she reached the point where she was accepting where she was at she was then able to look at her family and say
'you know, I don't have to be frustrated.' It's a whole lot more positive to her now," he says.
HospiceCare nurse Arlene McCormack, R.N., says Tedder is a fighter who enjoys life and while her "body doesn't want to cooperate, her mind is good and sharp."
St. John's HospiceCare staff, in addition to Shutz and McCormack, include a nurse aid and social worker. They visit Tedder and her family a couple of times a week and are welcomed as family, says Tedder's daughter Evelyn Mitchell.
"They are the sweetest, nicest people. Besides being dedicated, they are so gracious, sweet and loving. I just don't have the words. I keep feeling their backs to see where their wings are," she says.
Mitchell and Craig divide their time to make sure Tedder is never alone.
"I'm not sure we could have lasted this long without moral support," Craig says about HospiceCare. "They have helped so much by coming in and talking to Mom about everything she does."
It was Craig who first contacted HospiceCare after some friends at church suggested she make the call. "I didn't think we would qualify because Lollie doesn't have cancer. We were getting so run down. Once we got around to calling them, they were out here the next day."
HospiceCare isn't just for cancer patients or terminally ill patients, McCormack explains. People often have that misconception. Occasionally people will receive HospiceCare's services and then come off of the service.
"Some patients wait too long before calling us because they think it means the end. It's not about death, it's about controlling your pain to live quality time during the time you have left," she says.
In Tedder's case, McCormack arranged to bring in a hospital bed and other items the family needed, including an oxygen tank and other materials.
"They really make our lives better," says Craig.
Tedder sleeps with a small teddy bear every night. Shutz gave it to her on their first visit. She named it Charlie.
"I love every one of them," Tedder says. "I look forward to every one of them coming. That Arlene is something else. They're all real sweet. Every one of them."
Tedder's great-grandchildren Sarah and Katie Craig, ages 13 and 7, have also been touched by the HospiceCare staff. Katie has started a hospice club at school and plans for members of her third-grade class to make scrapbooks for patients. Sarah has taken steps a little farther.
As part of the E.A.G.L.E. class at Fordland Junior High School, Sarah was looking to do a service project that she felt made a difference in her community. Teacher Becky Smith encourages the seven members of the group, who make up the top 5 percent of their seventh-grade class to create their own project.
Sarah suggested a teddy bear drive for HospiceCare.
"I think they really helped out my mom and Nana," Sarah says.
Homerooms competed against one another during the five-day drive to gather the most bears and a small prize was given to the winning class.
"It's important because it can help people feel good about themselves to know that people still care about them," says classmate Tommy Toone.
Smith felt it was good for the students to get involved and understand a little bit about what Sarah's family was going through.
"It's relevant because it involved Sarah's family and it's creative and student-driven. It also involves community outreach and seemed doable," she says.
Other classmates involved in the project were Nikita Davis, Joe Yates, Bethany Davis, Katie Byers and Emily Holloway.
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