By: Stacey Starkman
beingwell magazine Fall 2006

A diagnosis of terminal illness can lead to a stay in a unit where palliative care is provided and where nursing support is crucial to the wellbeing of both patients and those who love them.

In June of 2000 John Peel was admitted to the cancer care unit of Southlake Regional Health Centre with terminal lung cancer. One of two founding partners of Brafasco, an industrial supplies and fastener distributor with 25 locations throughout Ontario and the United States. Mr. Peel and his family spent a month in the hospital’s cancer care unit until his death that August at the age of 62.

Bob Peel, general manager of Brafasco at that time and now a marketing consultant living in Orangeville, was, together with other family members, at his father’s bedside every day of the month-long ordeal. He says the nurses at Southlake treated the patients with great respect in circumstances that often strip patients of much of their privacy and dignity.

“The nurses (who provide) palliative care have a different perspective than anyone else. Working with people at the end of life is pretty tough but the nurses are trained to guide you through the last few months; it can be dehumanizing and they respect a dying person’s dignity,” he explains.

After her husband’s death, Dorothy Peel decided she would like to honour his memory by giving $5,000 to the hospital to say thank you for the uniformly kind and attentive nursing care provided by Southlake.

Over time and after discussions with family members, financial advisors and the hospital foundation, a decision was made to donate a further $50,000 for a double room at Southlake in John Peel’s name, in appreciation for the compassion and warmth the family had received during a summer filled with grief and despair.

The family then decided to double that amount and sponsor a second double room for $50,000, in honour of the nurses and excellent nursing care: the primary connection with the hospital for many patients and a source of comfort and reassurance for the family.

Both of these patient rooms in cancer care are designated with plaques: one pays tribute to Mr. Peel's memory, while the second honours the Southlake nursing staff.

Bob Peel says his mother felt pleased to be able to make this tribute to his father, and they hope their donation will lead others to do the same. He says the family had a “strong need” to give something back, and to acknowledge the impact the excellent nursing care had on their feelings toward the hospital.

“It’s relatively easy to raise funds for a new building or hospital equipment, but nursing is an intangible. The smile that makes you feel better is optional,” says Mr. Peel. “Patients need human interaction, especially at the point where life is terminal. All the equipment in the world won’t help, but the quality of human interaction makes a tremendous difference.”

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