For Patty Funkhouser, Blue Ridge Care has been a steady presence through the lives of three people she loved: her father, Chuck; her mother, Polly; and her husband of 52 years, Terry.
Her family’s experience began when Chuck received hospice care at an assisted living community. At first, Patty worried that hospice meant her father was expected to die soon. Over time, she came to understand it as an added layer of care and support for both Chuck and the people who loved him.
Palliative Care Nurse April Kier visited Chuck regularly and formed a special connection with him. “She was just the best,” Patty remembers. “She was just a sweetheart with my dad.”
After Chuck died, Polly continued living with Parkinson’s disease. When the assisted living community could no longer provide the level of care she needed, Patty and her family faced the difficult decision of what should come next. Blue Ridge Hospice helped them navigate that transition and remained part of Polly’s life for nearly four years.
Patty’s parents, Polly and Chuck, both received care and support from Blue Ridge Hospice in their end of life journeys.
“I never had to worry about her. I knew she was in good hands.”
More Than Medical Care
During those years, Patty saw her mother receive care that honored her for who she was, not only what she needed.
Leigh Williams, one of our Music Therapists, played guitar, wrote a song for Polly and sang one of her favorites, "You Are My Sunshine." Patty shared meals with her mother and took her outside for wheelchair walks, creating meaningful moments together throughout Polly's care.
The support extended to Patty, too. When work prevented her from visiting every day, nurses reassured her that the quality of the time she spent with her mother mattered more than the quantity.
"They cared for Mom so good, and they cared about me," Patty remembers. "They became my family, too."
Some of those relationships continued long after Polly died. Patty remains connected with team members who cared for her mother, reflecting the lasting place they came to hold in her family's life.
Care That Meets You Where You Are
Years later, Patty and Terry turned to Blue Ridge Hospice after Terry decided not to continue treatment following several experiences with cancer.
Patty met Terry as a teenager. He was the only person she ever dated, and together they shared 52 years of marriage and a lifetime of memories.
Hospice care helped Terry remain at home, where a bed was placed in the living room and nurses supported the family through each change. During one of his final days there, their children and grandchildren gathered. Terry sat on the front porch wrapped in his favorite football blanket while a grandson flew a drone in the driveway.
As Terry's needs increased, he moved to the Inpatient Care Unit, where he died peacefully soon afterward. Through each transition, Patty felt that she and her family were supported with guidance, reassurance and compassion.
Care at home allowed Terry to remain surrounded by familiar people and places before moving to the Inpatient Care Unit for additional support.
Over the years and through the care of three loved ones, Patty experienced how much the people behind the care matter. The nurses, therapists and caregivers who supported her family provided not only care, but comfort, reassurance and lasting connections.
We are grateful to Patty for trusting Blue Ridge Care to walk alongside her family and for allowing us to share their story. Her experience reminds us what a privilege it is to be welcomed into a family's life and to support them through some of their most personal moments.
