My Hospice Story: Tammy Starkey
Halifax Health – Hospice of Volusia/Flagler
“While working in hospice in West Virginia, I got a call for the death of a male patient. After I arrived, the wife and her daughters left the home, but the sons stayed behind to wait for the funeral home. The daughter-in-law helped me bathe and dress the patient. The sons wanted to wait on the porch as the funeral home collected the body. When the funeral home arrived, it was obvious that the one attendant was very young and quite inexperienced. Finally, with much cueing, the two men had the body on the stretcher and they were ready. The funeral home then proceeded to exit the home while the sons turned their backs, not wanting to remember their father leaving like that.
As the stretcher passed them, it hit a bump and shook the stretcher pretty hard, the patient’s arm slipped out of the velvet cover and at EXACTLY the same time, the son’s cell phone started ringing from deep in his pants pocket. ALTHOUGH, his ringtone was actually Tweety Bird’s voice hollering.”HELP ME, HELP ME. GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!” The son tried quickly to retrieve his phone and silence the ringer, but by now everyone was looking toward the body and at the poor new funeral attendant. His face was priceless, he literally looked like he was going to pass out. I wasn’t sure how to react, so I looked to the family, their tear stained faces had changed to joyful smiles and they all broke out in hysterical and snorting laughter. We all laughed until tears formed, the sons later told me that their father was a prankster and loved joking and laughing. They weren’t surprised, at all, to have their father leave their sight having played a final joke and fill their hearts with laughter.”