How often do we think about the place where we live our lives – the place where we grow up, raise our children, share meals with our family, laugh and cry? How often do we think about the moments that shape our very being – moments filled by the precious seconds, minutes and hours of life, laughter, tears, joy and love? Memories in our minds can dance to the music of the senses in sights, scents, sounds and feelings.

Perhaps Rogelio Jimenez felt this sea of emotion as he lay peacefully in his bed during the final moments of his life. Jimenez, known as “Popo” to his friends and family, left this earth of ours in June 2010. A WWII veteran, he traveled the world and saw many beautiful places, but the most beautiful place to him was his home on the west side of San Antonio.

No place in this world could hold his heart like the place where he lived with the love of his life of 58 years, the place where he raised his family and the place where he lived to see his grandchildren and his beautiful great-granddaughter. Wherever Jimenez was, there was dancing and the music of lovely boleros.

So much did Jimenez love his home that his final wish was to die peacefully in that sanctuary that was his home: the home of his countless memories. Jimenez’s wish was to die in the very room that saw the passing of his beloved wife, Enriqueta.

According to the National Hospice Palliative Care Organization (NHCPO), 80 percent of hospice patients are cared for in their homes. Care in the home allows for privacy and care in comfortable, familiar surroundings that many patients and families seek. Hospice care in the home is one example of how medical care in this age is coming back to its original setting.

Care in the home can be tailored to meet the patients’ and families’ needs, from the number of visits by nurses and nurse assistants to the degree of personal, intimate care that is desired. For many patients who choose to be treated in their homes, hospice gives family members the confidence of knowing their loved ones are being cared for by the watchful eyes of professional medical staff and that questions and concerns are just a phone call away.

“While the focus and mission of hospice is to provide care and comfort for the patient, family members benefit tremendously by the relief of stress that can be debilitating to caregivers,” said Gary Merchant, CEO of Alamo Hospice. “Hospice is not just for the patient; it’s for the family.”

Many of the services available to the patient, such as the visits by chaplains, social workers and volunteers, are available to the family, as well.

The NHCPO finds that more than a third of hospice patients receive care for less than seven days, which is too little time for families to realize the true benefits of hospice. The case of Jimenez is one such story that defines the very heart of hospice. When a cure can’t be found, hospice is there to provide love, care, comfort and the preservation of human dignity.

Jimenez entered the service of hospice in November 2009 at the recommendation of his doctor. The recent passing of his wife left him with a weakened spirit that led to bouts of pneumonia, weight loss and a general failure to thrive.

Over the next several months, Jimenez was visited weekly by his nurses and home health aides. The nurses monitored his status and addressed his needs of care and comfort. The beauty of hospice in the home is that it puts care in the tender hands of medical staff and allows families to be families in trying times.

Jimenez’s family found great solace in knowing their father was in capable hands as he neared his passing. Hospice afforded them the time to gather, reflect and celebrate the life of their father in the setting of their childhood.

The heart is where the home is. Jimenez’s heart dwelled in his home; it enshrined his treasured memories and the cherished belongings of his adoring wife that he clung to. We gather and rejoice at the coming of life. In the compassionate realm of hospice, we seek to honor and nurture life to its last, precious breath.

For more information about the compassionate care of hospice and how hospice benefits the families and community of the San Antonio area, contact the staff of Alamo Hospice at 210-444-2244.