Press Release,Featured
“Going to Hospice didn’t mean we’d given up; they helped out with our last time together,” said Dr. Mark Heggem, 
a retired family physician from Aitkin who lost his wife Liz to progressive brain cancer two years ago. “It was the hardest thing I ever did but also the most rewarding,” he said while sharing his personal experience to make more people aware of Hospice.
At his wife’s last hospitalization, she decided to be at home rather than go through more radiation and chemotherapy treatment and become ill with side effects. The oncologist gave her two to three months to live. Dr. Heggem had recently retired from Riverwood Health Care Center to be with and take care of his wife. He said she progressively declined and went from being an independent woman who could walk without assistance to being bedridden in a coma in a couple of months.
“I don’t know what I would have done without Hospice and their services,” said Dr. Heggem. “In addition, many of our family and friends wanted to help, plus the amazing community came to our support as well.”
The physician explained that Hospice provided the infrastructure for everything they needed, including an adjustable hospital bed. “One of the best things about Hospice is that whatever we needed they got it for us with no questions asked,” said Dr. Heggem. “If Liz needed increased time with an aide, that happened. Several nurses came to us and they were all very caring, special people.”
In addition to nursing support, Liz received weekly massages from a Hospice massage therapist and had regular visits from home health aides for personal care assistance. A social worker assisted with support including with delivery of supplies and medications. Because the couple had their own personal pastor, they did not request involvement with the Hospice chaplain.
Because Dr. Heggem had served as Hospice’s Medical Director when the program was started in the 1990s, he knew about available services and the staff. So, when his family needed the services, he chose the service offered by Cuyuna Regional Medical Center. “I knew the medical side of Hospice, but the nurses were great about teaching me the caregiver side. I learned stuff I did not know; it took me a while to figure out what the nurses thought I knew but I didn’t, and I was shy about asking for help. They taught me how to turn, move, and take care of Liz in a more comforting manner, that was key,” he stated.
He was also appreciative of the Hospice nurses’ concern for his wellbeing. “They told me to stop doing certain things because they would wear me out and try other things instead. They were right, by the end I was exhausted,” Dr. Heggem exclaimed.
“Our goal was to help Liz through her last weeks and days of her life and make her as comfortable as we possibly could,” Dr. Heggem said. “One of the nurses visited me after Liz passed and said she got better care at home than she would have ever gotten anywhere else. It consoled me.”
Because of generous donations from individuals and businesses in the area, Hospice services are provided to all those in the community regardless of their ability to pay. The annual Tree of Love fund-raising event also helps provides services. This year, because of COVID, the official tree lighting and dedication of the Hospice tree is scheduled virtually for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at facebook.com/crosbycares.
Home Health & Hospice accepts donations all year and the Tree of Love donations through the end of December. Donate $10 for each person to be honored or remembered at www.cuyunamed.org/treeoflove or send a check to: CRMC Tree of Love, 320 E. Main St., Crosby, MN 56441. Provide the name of the person the gift is in memory or in honor of, and to whom a card of notification should be sent.
For more information, visit www.cuyunamed.org or call 218-546-2311.
In honor and remembrance of our loved ones
Robert Albrecht
Garry & Lynda Nelson
Dixie Anderson
Emily United Methodist Women
Michael Andresen
Michelle Landowski
Treva Arzheimer
Emily United Methodist Women
“Fritz” Barrett
Russell & Sheryl Beddow
Fran Barrett
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Darrell Beddow
Wendy Thiebault
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Jean Beddow
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Tammy Beddow
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Eldred Beddow, Jr.
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Gregory Beddow
Russell & Sheryl Beddow
Eldred Beddow
Russell & Sheryl Beddow
Evelyn Beddow
Russell & Sheryl Beddow
Susan Kathi Beckwith - Beth
Monique Gamage
Leroy Bellefeuille
Sharon Bellefeuille
Matt Benson
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Gertie Benson
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Other Donations:
Amy Hart
Cascade Ladies
Anonymous
WM. S. Tomjanovich
