Hospice offers ‘gift of a day’

George Schweigert had dreamed of getting back on his roller skates for the last 11 years.

Roller skating was seemingly impossible after doctors diagnosed Schweigert’s Parkinson’s disease nine years ago, and after he suffered a series of unrelated illnesses.

When Schweigert began hospice care last month, though, his care team began to plan his return to the rink.

“He said he has always wanted to skate one more time,” said Dorethy Schweigert, his wife.

Schweigert’s family and friends will gather Tuesday for his “gift of a day,” which will be a skating party in his honor.

Each patient since 2004 at Crossroads Hospice Care in Kansas City, Mo., has been able to develop his or her “gift of a day.” It’s a chance for hospice workers and patients to celebrate life, said Sherri Bickley, director of social services.

“I think hospice care has a reputation of being the grim reaper in the health care field,” Bickley said. “Impending death can rob people of hope. This puts the focus on their life and that it can be good.”

Each patient is asked when first put into care what has been important to them in their lives. What would their perfect day be? Then their team of five to seven hospice care workers will work to make it happen for them.

For George Schweigert, the answer of what his perfect day would be came easy. He started roller-skating at the age of 16. He was a roller-skater when his wife Dorethy met him in 1964. He owned the Rainbow Roller Rink for 32 years in Monmouth, Ill., complete with a maplewood floor.

“He was a good (roller) dancer,” Dorethy Schweigert said. “He waltzed, no jumps.”

A gift of a day does not have to involve grand gestures or great expense, Bickley said. One patient, who lived with Alzheimers, had a daughter who mentioned she loved puppies. Bickley, who lives in Olathe, arranged for that patient to be able to interact with that puppy before she died. The puppy licked the woman’s face and she responded with a smile.

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