By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Southborough – Three evening sessions of a program known as We Honor Veterans will be presented this summer at the Southborough Library. This program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and Veterans Administration is designed to meet the unique needs of terminally-ill military veterans.
Men and women who have served in the military during any era including peacetime, as well as veterans’ family members and caregivers are welcomed to attend. Also invited are veterans seeking volunteer opportunities.
The first session, scheduled for Thursday, June 22, at 7 to 8:30 p.m., will focus on the value of veteran hospice patients interacting with veteran volunteers. Facilitating each session will be the Rev. Donna Vuilleumier, spiritual counselor and bereavement coordinator for Kindred Hospice in Marlborough.
“Regardless of the branch or era in which they served in the military, there’s a common language and bond,” she said. “Stoicism comes from the military, which all veterans understand. It can also be a hurdle toward the end of life because all of a sudden you are having to accept help and support. Another veteran can help them because they also understand that stoicism.”
Veterans interested in meeting with a veteran in hospice care are trained by the agency’s manager of volunteer services. Visits to veteran hospice patients are made at residences, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
“Volunteers are trained how to handle situations and learn what it’s like to visit with someone toward the end of their life,” Vuilleumier explained. “The unique layer is that the veteran who is volunteering with a hospice patient is coming in with the same experience. They already speak so much of the same language.”
The second session, titled Veterans’ Issues at the End of Life,” will take place Thursday, July 13, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
“Where people served and what era makes a difference as to how the end of their life can be,”
Vuilleumier said. “We’ve had people over the years who were at Pearl Harbor, who were part of the first troops to discover that the concentration camps were not just a rumor; they were a fact. Then they come home and there’s a tickertape parade. They can’t talk about what they’ve seen. They put it in mental box and it stays there.”
Kindred Hospice cares for patients age 21 and over. Their patients served during eras up to the Vietnam War, Vuilleumier noted.
“I recently did a service for a Vietnam veteran,” she relayed. “Some people there said that it was the first time they had ever been thanked for their service. They had to hide that they were a Vietnam veteran.”
Vuilleumier emphasized that people who served during peacetime should receive the same attention as veterans of conflicts.
“They were on guard, waiting and looking at all times for something to happen,” she said. “That had its own stresses.”
At the third session, Thursday, Aug. 24, 7 to 8:30 p.m., the DVD “Wounded Warrior: Their Last Battle” will be screened followed by a discussion. It will be an opportunity for veterans to candidly discuss their experiences while serving.
“They have seen some gruesome things and may not have always been able to speak about it,” Vuilleumier said. “They need to make peace with it at the end of their life.”
The Southborough Library is located at 25 Main St.
