Eunice Mann’s son describes her as someone who took pride in her family, looking at pictures that prove it.
She was a wife and a mom, taught school for over 30 years, and enjoyed quilting and planting flowers.
“Every spring, when she couldn’t do it anymore, they’d get the flowers planted in the pots and we had flowers all over, and we probably will again. That was important to her, and then the garden, she used to be a good gardener,” said Eunice’s son, Tim Mann.
She died in December. While it was hard to say goodbye, Tim says she was able to live her life to the fullest, even in her final months thanks to home hospice care.
“She always had a bad valve in her heart,” said Mann, and eventually she was too low on oxygen. "The doctor said she was going to have to be on hospice and of course everyone thought hospice is where you’re going to die, which it is, but we thought, the way they took care of her, it’s a good thing for living. She had such a great life at the end and she appreciated so much of what they all did for her.”
Hospice teams are there to support when a cure is no longer an option.
Eunice started home hospice in May of last year.
Staff came out to her home about four or five times a week, including Bethany Eichelberger, Avera@Home Nursing Supervisor at Avera St. Anthony’s in O’Neill.
“It didn’t take very long at all for her to say how appreciative she was of the program because we were able to supply the equipment that she needed here to keep her here,” Bethany Eichelberger, Avera@Home Nursing Supervisor at Avera St. Anthony’s said.
“When a hospice patient needs a different bed, if they need a new wheelchair or more oxygen, then the team gets that to them as quickly as possible,” Barbara Gutshall, MD, Associate Medical Director of Hospice at Avera St. Anthony’s, said. “We’re able to provide medications to help provide comfort and relieve shortness of breath, whether it’s pain or anxiety.”
“We have somebody on call 24/7 so holidays, nights, weekends, there’s always somebody on call, like Tim said if he had issues or wanted to change something he would just give me a call and it was very easy,” Eichelberger said.
“It’s really great, and it took a lot of pressure off of me because they would come out here and would stay here for a couple hours, help her with dishes and stuff, just talking to her, someone to be here,” Mann said.
Not only did the hospice team support Eunice, but also Tim and the rest of his family.
“I enjoyed them coming, too, I sat here and talked to the nurses and got to know them, really got personal with everything, they supported me, too, because I knew she was going and that’s why we had them out here helping me out. She got to stay at home and do the things she wanted to do until she couldn’t do them anymore,” Mann said.
This option gave Eunice a chance to maintain a quality of life right at home. Leaving memories for her family to cherish forever.
“She stayed right here in her house and I think that’s what most people want to do if they can,” Mann said. “It prepared her for the time to come. It’s always hard but my mom lived to be 95 so she had a good life.”
