A hospice that the Sisters of Queen of Apostles started almost five years ago in Mangalore is changing the perception of death-bed service, say nuns attached to it.

“It is no more a place where dying people come. It has become a place where people get inner healing and peace, and some times cure,” said Sister Santhosh D’Souza.

Sister D’Souza heads the Karnataka-Goa province of the sisters of the Queen of the Apostles (SRA), which runs the hospice in Kallianpur near Mangalore.

The Cynthia Fernandes Memorial Palliative Care Centre aims to care for terminally ill people at the fag end of their life. It is attached to Goretti Hospital managed by the congregation.

The hospice, opened on January 5, 2006, was built through the generosity of a Catholic, whose wife Cynthia Fernandes died of cancer without having the care of a hospice.

Mr. Fernandes, a local Catholic, continues to fund the maintenance of the building, which at any given time takes care of some 10 people, Sister D’Souza said.

The province has been “dreaming about” a centre for the care of the terminally ill patients, particularly for those abandoned. The promise of help came unexpectedly.

The hospice has so far admitted 239 people but had only 134 deaths.

“It was beautiful that so many could be cured, although they came expecting the end, the nun said, adding the nuns’ “medicine, treatment and approaches,” have made the difference.

“Proper food, counseling and strict administration of medicine have helped many to regain health,” the nun said adding that some go back, come again when health deteriorates.

The hospices are to make sure that “dying persons feel that they are wanted, cared for at their last hour,” she said. Our mission is to reduce the pain and help the patient to accept the illness and die in peace.

“While it is important to live with dignity and happiness it is also important to die with equal human dignity,” Sister D’Souza said.

The facility is available free of cost to all cancer patients at their last stage, when they can no longer treat the disease.

Most people come to a hospice seeing no hope in living. “Counseling, inner healing, and prayers,” help them regain confidence, which is must in helping the cure, the nun said.

The congregation manages the hospice with nuns and some paid medical nurses. “Eventually, we like to have more of our sisters take it over,” Sister D’Souza said.

Source: CRI/SRA

Related posts:

1. Nun’s care for destitute patients wins hearts
2. Nun counsels for better society
3. Indian nuns work to ‘re-evangelize’ Europe
4. Daughters of Charity save lives in Jakarta
5. Sr. Crocetta lives for slum kids

Stay in Touch

Subscribe to Religious India free Newsletter