I spent the last four days in a hospice, Skanda Vale, relaxing, chatting and painting pictures. Of the five patients who were there, I was, I discovered, the only one with cancer. It felt good to be giving my wife a break -- though we spoke daily via Skype. The food was good and vegetarian. The hospice is, after all, financed by a Hindu ashram about five miles away.
The ashram has two elephants that they revere but that are not open for public viewing. I asked to see them, telling one of the Sisters at the hospice much about Hinduism on Trinidad. While I was visiting them, one of the elephants gave me a blessing. This involved it tapping my head with the tip of its trunk. I gave it an apple, which it picked up from my hand with its trunk, in return for having my hair filled with elephant snot.
Written by
BrentW
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I too have been blessed by a Temple Elephant in India. I LOVE Elephants, calm, beautiful,gentle, regal. Even washed them in a stream with a coconut shell in Shri Lanka, memories we will cherish forever.
Its nice that your wife has had a break from everything. A little 'me' time will do her the world of good, I'm sure.
My Husband Clint, Stage 4 mcrpc, sat with a friend for 4 hours yesterday, while his wife took a break. A friend cooked her a meal, etc.. Unfortunately the friend with PC is now bedbound, age 60, wouldn't have chemo , my heart breaks for them both.
I managed four paintings while there, but only two are what I would call 'showable'. None are of the hospice or ashram; I felt that photographing those places would be as gauche and boorish as photographing inside a cathedral. I shall see if I can scan or photograph the paintings I managed, and then post them.
yayahahahaya well that’s not your everyday hospice experience… 2 elephants. Pretty kewl. How have “ you “ been doing yourself big guy ? Do Hindu hospices have people for pain management ? I can say with certainty, in my decades with the Zen monastery at Mt. Shasta …. we did not have elephants. Goats for sure , but elephants , no. Yayahahahaya interesting. I had a brief, slight brush , with the Hari Kristina temple on Telegraph Ave in Berkeley, in the late 60s . Hinduism is a broad subject , with many interesting variations. Buddhism too, I guess.
Thanks for keeping all of us updated on your interesting hospice experiences.
Sounds like it might have been restorative time for both you and your wife. Did they use Western medicines and treatments with you or Ayurvedic treatments?
They used both. I walked with the medications prescribed by the palliative care team (fentanyl patches, Abstral (fentanyl) tablets, Pregabalin tablets and others), and there were such Ayurvedic treatments as I requested. These included especially meditation, massage (I enjoyed the head massage especially, which ensured that I slept soundly), and yoga. I found reflexology to be therapeutic; when one area proved especially sensitive, the reflexologist told me that it was related to my chest. He did not know beforehand that I have lesions in my lungs. I was impressed.
bless you my friend, you just both me and my wife smile. I pray that however many days, week, months you have on this earth that they are comfortable and peaceful. Your journey has uplifted me and I thank you for that. God bless you.
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Is hospice care what we need?
