Like many people, Mitchell Brown did not know much about hospice care before entering the McNally House Hospice doors with his father, Ralph Brown. Mitchell says Ralph was a dedicated worker and a good father to his five children. Mitchell helped care for his father for about seven years, after his mother passed, before bringing him to McNally House.

Mitchell found McNally House overwhelming — in a good way.

“I was overwhelmed by the care they gave him,” He says, “I was overwhelmed by the compassion they showed.”

The staff and volunteers at McNally House help make the final days memorable and peaceful for both the resident and their loved ones. 

One of his favourite memories of his experience with McNally House was how they were able to make his father feel at home. Ralph was able to get his favourite foods and participate in new and old activities he enjoyed. McNally House offers art therapy which he especially loved. Ralph made Christmas ornaments for his family and friends so they would have something physical to remember him. It is something Mitchell says he will always treasure.

Mitchell is a photojournalist by profession. He wanted to take photos of his father’s final journey at McNally, however long he had left with him. He took pictures of both his father and the staff at McNally.

“I wanted to show him in a light of how peaceful he was there. I wanted to photograph the staff with him to show the compassion that was there. It was the photojournalist coming out in me, and I just wanted to document it.”

Despite not knowing about hospice care before experiencing it through his own family, Mitchell would like people to understand how end-of-life care works, and to feel more at ease if they need to put their loved one in hospice.

“Just be comforted to know that your loved one will be extremely well taken care of, and they’ll be treated with dignity and kindness their whole time there,” Mitchell says.

Mitchell says an overwhelming amount of compassion ‘shines’ at McNally House. The shining light that is the staff and volunteers helps compassion grow both at McNally House and in the community. They are there to help make the difficult time of saying goodbye to a loved one easier and filled with final, cherished memories.

At McNally House Hospice, we feel privileged to provide compassionate, person-centred care to not only our residents, but their family and friends. For every one resident we care for at the hospice, there are at least five family and friends that will require our support.

But we can’t do it without you.

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