People - Mense

• Let's drink (tea) to life
• Tuisversorgers is helpende hande

"It's easy," she says with her gentle smile. "I deal with living - not death."

Hence the lively butterflies that brighten up the Hospice office on the corner of Breda and Swartvlei Street in Paarl.

"We look at the quality of life. We help people to live before they die."

As a nurse for over 20 years, not only in South Africa, but also England and Australia where she passed each examination with honours, Elizabeth has worked extensively in psychotherapy.

She has always been involved with the living.

Elizabeth was personally exposed to death when she was very young.

"To start off with, I had to find a way for me to cope with death and then to find a way for others to deal with it."

Elizabeth graduated cum laude with a master's degree in pastoral therapy, on the meaning of life.

For her the most satisfying of her job now is to see the staff coping.

"People have to look beyond suffering. I know they are coping when they see joy in even the smallest thing, like the beauty of nature."

Since September, Hospice has 18 homebase carers, trained personnel in the field in Drakenstein. Volunteers (formal training is not a prerequisite) from the  community are trained for three months.

There are more than 200 patients with Aids, cancer and other chronic illnesses.

Their biggest restraint, as with all non-government organisations, is the insecurity around finances, says Elizabeth.

Since she joined Hospice in Paarl five years ago, it has grown from two registered nurses who worked half days with 22 patients, to the current four full-day registered nurses and two social workers, 18 homebase carers and 50 volunteers for more than 200 patients.

Without the companionship offered to patients by the volunteers, the caring would not be possible, she says fondly.

Why was Elizabeth appointed CEO of Hospice?

A Paarl doctor answers: "She is the most compassionate person I have ever met. She understands not only her work as a nurse, but she understands people."

Elizabeth sees her new role as looking after the staff, the carers and the volunteers. She is there to "bring it all together."

She says: "Last week a sister had three of her patients dying in one day, so three families' pain to deal with.

"You have to be sensitive to each person's unique way of dealing with stress. At Hospice we do a lot of sharing and talking, and we do a lot of laughing.

"Some people want to be alone, others in company. Some of my staff go home, others sit under a tree. I am a major tea drinker.

"Our aim at Hospice is to help people cope."

Like Elizabeth, her husband also believes in the empowerment of people.

John is the estate manager at the Buffet Olive farm in Klein Drakenstein and is "an exceptional man" to assist her.

Elizabeth will not be able to stay seated behind a desk all day. She will make time to still do homecare, because people - all people - are her first love.

The telephone number for Hospice is 872-4060. From there the caller will be referred, according to need, to the available resources - be it for a nurse with medical expertise, a social worker, a home carer, or the companionship of a volunteer.

"We survive on the generosity of the community," says Elizabeth. "I want the people of Drakenstein to know that Hospice belongs to them."

And she takes a sip of her tea, while the purple butterflies flutter effortlessly in the breeze above her head.

SEDERT November is daar twee engele wat vyf keer 'n week die huis van Sheila Kriel kom besoek, en 'n swaar las van haar skouers kom afhaal.

Haar seun, Novellin (36), is drie jaar gelede vroegaand met 'n mes in die nek gesteek toe hy deur 'n stegie naby sy ma se huis gestap het.

Danksy goeie opleiding wat sy by die Conradie Hospitaal ontvang het, moes Sheila skielik leer hoe om haar kwadrupleeg-seun te versorg en te bad. Dit gaan egter moeilik om 'n volgroeide man self uit die bed te moet optel.

Sedert November besoek twee tuisteversorgers ("home-based care workers") haar. Maria Engelbrecht en Sofia Geslin loer elke weeksdag rondom 09:00 by haar blougroen huis naby Sandstraat, om vir Novellin uit die bed te tel, te bad, te skeer, fisioterapeutiese oefeninge te help doen en ook sy hande en voete te versorg.

Hulle is deel van die groep van twaalf tuisteversorgers wat die Wellington Vereniging vir Bejaardes vir 'n jaar kon aanstel om in die gemeenskap betrokke te wees, en om siekes en verswaktes wat nie in hospitale of bejaardesorginrigtings is nie, tuis te help versorg en te verpleeg.

Die diens, wat gratis aangebied word, is moontlik gemaak deur 'n ruim skenking van die Nasionale Loteryfonds. 'n Soortgelyke diens is voorheen geloods, maar moes weens beperkte fondse gestaak word.

"Ons glo egter dat ons volgehoue fondse sal kan verseker om hierdie belangrike diens op 'n volhoubare wyse te kan bedryf vir meer as net hierdie jaar," glo die koördineerder van die tuisteversorgers, Rozella Davey.

Die tuisteversorgers wat aangestel is, het almal reeds opleiding ontvang by instansies soos St Johns, Wamakersvallei Opleidingsentrum en Rusoord Ouetehuis.

Suster Davey sorg egter dat hulle hul vaardighede gereeld uitbrei deur onder meer basiese kursusse in fisioterapeutiese oefeninge wat hulle by Elangeni by TC Newman hospitaal deurloop.

Haar tuisteversorgers werk twee-twee in spanne saam, en versorg saam reeds 55 invalides in Newton, Egoli, Carterville, Newrest, Weltevreden, Paton Place en Wellington dorp.

Gestremde persone en bedlêende of erg verswakte pasiënte word elke weeksoggend besoek, terwyl minder verswakte persone weekliks besoek word om hulle by te staan met die was van hare of die versorging van hande en voete.

Tans versorg hulle heelwat persone wat gestremd is, of wat bedlêend is weens beroertes of herstel van siektes.

"Dit is wonderlik om te sien hoe 'n persoon wat 'n beroerte gehad het, kan floreer as hy net die regte stimulasie kry," vertel sy van een van haar pasiënte wat reeds in 'n kort tydjie se aandag van haar tuisteversorgers heelwat verbeter het.

Wanneer 'n pasiënt na die diens verwys word, besoek suster Davey eers die persoon, om die behoeftes vas te stel.

Sy help ook met kleiner mediese prosedures en toetse vir bloeddruk en suiker, sodat verswaktes nie hospitaal of kliniek toe hoef te gaan daarvoor nie. Hierdie diens word ook verskaf aan die lede van die Gemoedsrus Dienssentrum op Wellington.

Drie rolstoele wat onlangs deur Eskom geskenk is, word ook geroteer tussen pasiënte wat besig is om van siektes of operasies te herstel.

"Dit is 'n geweldige hulp vir families, wat andersins self swaar moet dra om hul geliefdes te versorg," vertel sy. 

In sommige gevalle is die tuisversorgers die enigste persone wat 'n bedlêende persoon sien deur die loop van die dag terwyl hul familie by die werk is.

"Dan is daar minstens iemand wat sorg dat die persoon sy pille kry."

"Dis werklik wonderlik wat hulle doen, want sonder hulle sou ek reeds kapoet gewees het," beaam Sheila. "Hulle is nou al deel van my familie!"

Mense wat meer inligting oor hierdie gratis diens wil hê, of donasies wil maak, kan Lena Kroneberg kontak by 873-6530.