Meet Anne, a volunteer

It's Volunteer Week. We're celebrating Anne Bigelow as a wonderful volunteer within the Palliative Unit. The Society knowledges her work and dedication to those many people who have gone from being seriously ill at home, to palliative care in hospital. Below is a brief chat with Anne.

Anne with her husband Bob and granddaughter Julia

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Soon after retirement Anne became a volunteer in the palliative care unit at Aberdeen Hospital. “I enrolled in the required courses, familiarized myself with the unit surroundings…” and she dug in from there. Her volunteer work quickly became “a passion”! “There is continuous learning - you can read things prior to going into the unit, but when you walk in, and people are at end of life it makes you more aware. Everyone is different you learn to adjust. Often the family, their loved ones or the patient are needing a listening ear, we do this as best we can in hopes of also relieving the palliative team.

Anne ensures the unit’s kitchen is fully stocked with comforts like cereal, eggs, milk... Often a tray of her special home baked cookies, with tea and coffee are served up for those who need nourishment and a taste of home. “The Aberdeen Palliative Care Society provides us with some funding assistance for this. We enjoy this special relationship and the many within the Society who volunteer on the unit. We have crayons and colouring books there for any children who may be visiting those in the unit, this helps with ensuring the children are occupied”. Anne and other volunteers also take care of keeping washed and fresh the many locally handmade quilts that are in each room. “Of course, we miss all this now with COVID19 restrictions preventing us from carrying out our volunteer commitments! Not to forget any new volunteers coming in, we provide mentorship for them. It is important the learning is not just technical but practical too.”

No description required :-) they are chocolate, they are delicious, and they are from Anne.

So, what does Anne do in her spare time? She walks, usually just “45-50 minutes per day, I have no idea how many kilometers that is, I just like to walk outside. And there are the grandchildren who now live locally too." Reverting back to her volunteerism, “I can’t wait to get back to the unit when these restriction ease. It is what I signed up to do. This very quickly has become my passion! I don’t know where it came from, but it simply is. I’m still baking cookies though. I really enjoy this."

Thanks to Anne's family for sharing her with us.

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Thanks for reading along.  

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