Summer 2023

‘I Left There Feeling Like Myself’

Agrace Teaming and Inpatient Care Bring Sarah Dramatic, Lasting Pain Relief

In the weeks after Sarah enrolled with Agrace Hospice Care, her care team was working to address her overwhelming cancer-related pain at home. But they were running out of options.

“I have tumors all over my body. I was in bed almost all day, and my mood—I felt like I was giving up,” Sarah remembers. “I was in so much pain, I couldn’t go to my sons’ games; I couldn’t cook dinner. I couldn’t be the mom that I’ve been able to be, even with cancer, for the past 10 years.”

So in late December, Sarah was admitted to Agrace’s hospice inpatient unit (IPU) in Madison for advanced pain management. She didn’t expect to stay more than three weeks—nor the lasting relief that followed.

IPU Care Focuses on Managing Symptoms

At the IPU, Sarah’s interdisciplinary hospice team included Agrace’s Linda Blust, a hospice & palliative physician, and pharmacist Cory Sarver, who specialize in managing end-of-life symptoms.

“Pain is big portion of people’s quality of life and definitely feeds into that fear of ‘Will I be uncomfortable?’” Cory says. “Sarah was getting relatively high opioid doses, and as we tried going higher, it wasn’t really helping—just making her sleepy without a lot of benefit, which wasn’t in line with her goals.”

“We tried all of the things that usually work. And despite escalating those things, she wasn’t getting any relief,” Dr. Blust agrees.

“We eventually settled on trying ketamine,” Cory explains. “Ketamine has been used for pain for years, but it also has some remarkable effects on depression. When ketamine works, it works quickly, within days. We thought we might be able to hit both symptoms with one drug.

“One regimen I have had success with is called burst ketamine, where you run an infusion in relatively large doses over three to five days, continuously. Then you stop it, and people still get the benefit—sometimes for months. So we thought ‘Let’s give it a shot.’

Cory Sarver, PharmD, BCPS

“I consider ketamine a ‘swing for the fences’ intervention. It either works amazingly or it doesn’t do much, in my experience. But Sarah was one of those people who got a pretty dramatic response.”

Sarah agrees, “It was days of trying different things and nothing was working. Finally, they got me on these ketamine infusions—and that changed my life.”

“Sarah had really felt ‘not heard’ for years about how things were going in terms of both her mental suffering and her pain,” Dr. Blust says. “Taking the time to listen to her and encouraging her to hang in with us—knowing she was almost out of options—made a difference.”

Sarah and her sons

Lasting Relief—and Doing Mom Things

“They worked so hard for me, and I left there feeling like myself—and I haven’t felt like myself in years!” Sarah exclaims. “When I got home, I was able to go to my sons’ basketball games, I’m making dinners, I’m cleaning the house, doing the mom things that I couldn’t do before.”

Sarah’s pain relief lasted for months after her treatment at the Agrace IPU. She was even able to take a vacation to Florida! She returned home with the care of her hospice team, including her nurse case manager, Mallorie, and Hanna, her social worker.

Sarah says, “I’ll always have pain, but I’m at the point now where I can live. I can do the things I want to do. They’ve given me time with my children, and that’s the greatest gift.”

Farm-Visit Wish Lets Volunteer, Patient Make Memories Together

By Arie Smouter, Agrace volunteer

Arie Smouter

I’ve volunteered with Agrace Hospice Care for a couple of years now. I love it! I joined Agrace for a couple of reasons. In the early days of the COVID pandemic, before vaccines, I watched the pandemic’s toll on our communities and felt quite helpless. Having lived through that, I feel that everyone deserves someone to sit with them, honor their life and honor them during dying, in whatever form that takes. For me, it often means sharing stories with one another when I visit.

Like many of us, I live far from my parents. When my parents age, I will not be there to sit with them regularly, share stories and honor them. I volunteer with Agrace so that I may sit with your parents, in hopes that when the time comes, someone may sit with mine.

One patient I visit is Dale. Dale raised his family on a farm near Lodi. He loves this land and misses it terribly. He talks about the property nearly every time I meet with him. During our winter visits it was easy to explain that we could not go to the farm, that everyone needed to be safe and warm inside. But how would I explain once the weather turned warm? That is how the Wish idea came to me: Could Agrace arrange to bring Dale to visit the farm he loves so much?

I brought the idea to Laura, my Agrace volunteer coordinator. She and the Agrace team worked their magic, and Dale was able to visit the farm! When Laura told me I was invited to join Dale, I was thrilled.

Arie joined Dale and his wife and daughter for the farm visit

Often when I visit with patients, they share their memories and I share mine. This Wish provided us the unique opportunity to form memories together.

There are many ways to volunteer with Agrace, and nearly everyone will find a way to help others and feel personally fulfilled. As a companionship volunteer, I meet with a variety of people with interesting lives and entertaining stories. Some visits are sitting quietly in each other’s company; others may be doing activities or reading, but often my visits feature wonderfully intimate, engaging storytelling.

Many of us who are parents know the importance of sharing life’s lessons with our children. In the same way, I think it is important that we sit with our elders to accept their life lessons. Through their friendship, their openness and their stories, each one prepares me for when it’s my time to be an elder to others.

Being a companionship volunteer can be challenging at times. Agrace has many resources to support me and other volunteers, first and foremost their fantastic volunteer coordinators. I make a real difference in the lives of people who helped build the wonderful community in which I live, and that is incredibly rewarding. Please reach out to Agrace to learn about volunteer opportunities at (608) 327-7163 or visit our volunteer page.

Establish a Charitable Gift Annuity: The Gift that Gives Back

John Hromyak

There’s a way for you to support Agrace and feel confident that you have dependable income in your retirement years. You can do this with a charitable gift annuity, or CGA. When you fund a CGA, you can receive an immediate charitable deduction and fixed payments for the rest of your life. Plus, as of this year, you can fund your gift using your IRA assets.

For more information about a CGA, current rates or a personalized proposal, contact John Hromyak, foundation director, via email or by calling (608) 327-7139.

Celebrate a Golden Birthday: 17 Years of Thrift

Now through August 17—National Thrift Shop Day—Agrace thrift stores are celebrating a golden birthday! We’ve been open for 17 years at our first store on Madison’s West Side. Store proceeds support programs like Agrace’s community grief support, our hospice patient Wish program and specialized training for our clinical staff.

For news about thrift store birthday promotions, discounts and sales, follow each location on Facebook or Instagram, or visit any of our four shops (see here for details).