Story of Stanley Kaczmarek
November 22, 2017
“Unity steps in so when the final moment comes, you know you have done everything possible. You have no guilt. Unity is there to guide you through it all.”
“Dad had been diagnosed with stomach cancer five years ago. He was only supposed to make it two years. He beat that stomach cancer. Dad was fine until just this past September when he started slowly declining. I felt lost because here you have a loved-one who is terminally ill. You want to keep that person at home, but you don’t know how to take care of him. How are we going to get this and how are we going to get that? You feel helpless. And then you find out about hospice. It was a big relief off my shoulders”, said Janis Wilson, Stanley Kaczmarek’s daughter.
In November 2015, when Stanley’s health began to deteriorate quickly due to kidney failure, his family knew it was time for a referral to Unity. “Our mother and brother died with dignity. Our father wanted Unity’s hospice care because he saw the excellent care that was provided for my brother,” said Brian, Stanley’s son.
Brian and his wife, Lucy, moved Stanley from the assisted living facility into their own home. “He has given to us all of his life and now this is our turn to give back to him during his final moments. By having Unity, you are able to keep your family member at home instead of the hospital; it is much more personal care. It is such a relief and so gratifying to know that I can help him to the end. I can help him go home. I can do that with the help of Unity,” said Janis.
Through the education and support Unity provided, Lucy was able to recognize when Stanley entered the active dying phase. She called family to his side before he took his last breath. When Janis arrived, she recalled her father didn’t want to go home without wearing his shoes. She quickly placed Stanley’s shoes on his feet and said, “Alright dad, you have your shoes on, you can go home now. You have my permission, go home.”
The look in Stanley’s eyes seemed as though he was not quite ready to go home. Lucy then grabbed a wine bottle and poured wine into small glasses. Remembering her father-in-law could no longer drink, Lucy dipped her fingers into the glass and dabbed Stanley’s lips with wine. The family then all took turns toasting to the great life he lived. Soon after, Stanley took his final breath and was able to go home peacefully.
“Unity steps in so when the final moment comes, you know you have done everything possible. You have no guilt. Unity is there to guide you through it all,” said Lucy.
—The Kaczmarek family
“Dad had been diagnosed with stomach cancer five years ago. He was only supposed to make it two years. He beat that stomach cancer. Dad was fine until just this past September when he started slowly declining. I felt lost because here you have a loved-one who is terminally ill. You want to keep that person at home, but you don’t know how to take care of him. How are we going to get this and how are we going to get that? You feel helpless. And then you find out about hospice. It was a big relief off my shoulders”, said Janis Wilson, Stanley Kaczmarek’s daughter.
In November 2015, when Stanley’s health began to deteriorate quickly due to kidney failure, his family knew it was time for a referral to Unity. “Our mother and brother died with dignity. Our father wanted Unity’s hospice care because he saw the excellent care that was provided for my brother,” said Brian, Stanley’s son.
Brian and his wife, Lucy, moved Stanley from the assisted living facility into their own home. “He has given to us all of his life and now this is our turn to give back to him during his final moments. By having Unity, you are able to keep your family member at home instead of the hospital; it is much more personal care. It is such a relief and so gratifying to know that I can help him to the end. I can help him go home. I can do that with the help of Unity,” said Janis.
Through the education and support Unity provided, Lucy was able to recognize when Stanley entered the active dying phase. She called family to his side before he took his last breath. When Janis arrived, she recalled her father didn’t want to go home without wearing his shoes. She quickly placed Stanley’s shoes on his feet and said, “Alright dad, you have your shoes on, you can go home now. You have my permission, go home.”
The look in Stanley’s eyes seemed as though he was not quite ready to go home. Lucy then grabbed a wine bottle and poured wine into small glasses. Remembering her father-in-law could no longer drink, Lucy dipped her fingers into the glass and dabbed Stanley’s lips with wine. The family then all took turns toasting to the great life he lived. Soon after, Stanley took his final breath and was able to go home peacefully.
“Unity steps in so when the final moment comes, you know you have done everything possible. You have no guilt. Unity is there to guide you through it all,” said Lucy.
—The Kaczmarek family