We are writing to share our gratitude that your company exists, but especially to our home hospice nurse Cara Thompson. My father fought a very valiant battle with cancer. He never believed he would lose the battle, but as it became clearer that it was not a war he could win, we know that Lutheran Collier Center would be the only option we would consider. What we did not know was how quickly our journey would end.

When Cara met with us, we could tell right away that she was a gift. My mother, sister and I felt an instant sense of relief as she talked to us, explaining the symptoms that she was already seeing in my father that suggested he may not have a long journey left. She stayed for about 3 hours that first afternoon getting my father's pain, restlessness and confusion under control and left specific directions on how to care for him overnight, and walked us through an emotional decision as to whether to try to continue to care for him at home or move him to the inpatient unit.

As promised, Cara returned first thing in the morning to see how the night went. When she arrived my father's breathing had already changed, he was unresponsive and we worried the long pauses in his breathing meant he was struggling. As she sat on the couch to explain that he was very near death, she had sensed that my mother was not completely comfortable with the idea of him passing away at home. We talked about how he hated hospitals, had begged us earlier in the year not to take him there and literally one minute after she said she would be okay with him passing at home, he passed.

We were so thankful she was there, her compassion and respect not only for him but for us was exactly what we needed. Her reassurance that we had done a great job in caring for him and her jumping right in to make all of the appropriate phone calls so that we could grieve was a blessing we could never repay.