Stickle Family, Angels of Hospice Helped Family

Jamie and his children were on their way to his daughter's 8th grade graduation in June 2004 when the phone rang and his wife Candy was summoned to the hospital by her doctor. The next morning they found out together that Candy's condition was terminal. Her physician recommended hospice.

"There's healthcare and there's patient care. Doctors provide healthcare, and they don't give up easily. But the angels of hospice provide patient care, and the family is part of the patient," Jamie said. "She was gone within a week, but it was the most difficult week of our lives. The angels of hospice helped us get through it as a family."

Surrounded by extended family from near and far, Jamie and their four children, then ages 10 to 19, brought her home on a Tuesday. "It was a beautiful summer day in the Yakima Valley when Tracey and David, the hospice team, walked into our living room and our lives to provide a temporary relief from the anxiety. They taught us how to administer medication to keep her comfortable."

On June 12, just as the sun popped over the Wenas ridge, Candy passed away at 5:15 a.m. When asked what he would say to those who give so generously to The Memorial Foundation and the hospice program, Jamie paused thoughtfully before saying, "Thank you. God bless you. You paid the airfare for the angels who came to us through hospice."