Aids Hospice and Intensive Care

Since our hospice care program opened for adults in late 2005 over 130 persons have been cared for, some for short periods, others prolonged. Of the 130 persons about 45 have died—many of them at the hospice, others in their homes after leaving the hospice. Many have also recovered well enough and have found small jobs—these are few and far in between. We have found that a great number of them returning home have been rejected, uncared for, do not eat properly nor take their medication properly; thus, die within a short time. Because of this we have started a new program for those who have no home or place to return to—our program being the start of a self help program where some of them now live on our farm. On the farm they can now plant vegetables as a source of their own food, help with the care of the fruit trees, help with raising fish in the ponds and now raising ducks. We can see a tremendous difference in their attitude and outlook on life. They are happy, they feel fulfilled and are filled with hope. Not all will be able to live on the farm in the limited accommodation; however, because of a very generous benefactor a new Center is under construction for this purpose as well as teenagers. At the new Center they will be expected to work in the same way as partial self support. At the new Center part of the development will be also to plant fruit trees, raise fish, ducks, chickens and whatever they are interested in doing to help themselves.

Patients have been sent to our hospice not only from the Nong Bua Lamphu Province, but from many other Provinces as well, especially from the Northeastern Provinces. Other religious have sent patients to us for care, local hospitals from other Provinces as well, especially cases where they have been rejected by family and friends. Some of these cases come in very late stages so for many of these there is no hope. It is very rewarding to see some of our patients who have been with us for many months, coming in very bad condition and to see how they have improved both physically and mentally.

Aids is affecting young men and women in so many different ways. Many come with tuberculosis; thus, have to go through a long course of TB medications before they are able to get onto the aids antiviral medications. Others the disease affects their eye sight, their speech, hearing and overall their physical being.

We are fortunate in that the government is giving the aids antiviral medicines free to those inflicted with aids. These medications have made a tremendous difference in the life of so many. I remember in our early years here when we still were only working out of the office doing visitations and still had no facility to care for people—I remember in a period of 2 years having 60 of our HIV group dying. It was as if an entirely new group appeared and it was not long after this that the antiviral medicines became available through the government.

We are fortunate as well to have a very good staff; though, they are not fully fledged nurses, some of them have hospital work experience. We are not far from the local government hospital and take patients for check up and appointments frequently—almost every week someone has an appointment. Our patients have care 24 hours a day.

Since we have our own SVD parish priest and since the Center and Church are close together, he has been appointed as chaplain to our patients and visits them regularly to give any pastoral care and spiritual needs they might have even though they are all Buddhist.

The Province here is as earlier mentioned one of the poorest of the 76 Provinces financially, we cannot expect to receive financial help; however, from time to time individuals and some of the local businesses bring food and other goods to help our patients and the children—this help is much appreciated though not frequent.

Above one of the patients from Udon Thani who came for care, blind as the result of aids, the young woman in the wheel chair spent several months at the hospice and taken almost weekly to a large hospital in Khon Kaen Province (over 100 kilometers drive) for eye injections to treat her eye sight—she died some months later. In the center one of the first patients in the hospice, also died. On the right two patients doing handicrafts as physical therapy. The young women recovered very well and has returned to her family and young man still with us now more than one year has improved greatly and helping daily with gardening chores at the Center—he will be one of the persons to go to the new Center once completed.

Our Intensive Care Unit with an additional two beds has been very helpful for more critical patients and allows as well patients coming with tuberculosis to be separated from the others. The ICU has been made possible through the help of the San Bernardino Diocese in California and the Lynch Family Foundation in America as well. It was a simple conversion of a small sala where the patients used to eat their meals into the room that it is now with an extension of toilet shower facilities for wheel chair accessibility. The ICU has been named “Villa Marie” in honor of a very dear benefactor in America.