Case Study
As I see it, from the perspective of my own and my mother’s experience, since the natural antidote to a loss of hope and meaning must be a belief in something, it stands to reason that a Chaplain should come from a position of a faith in the ‘unmanifest’ because in doing so they are able to help the individual find and establish their own faith. In other words, Chaplaincy is not about conversion in the traditional sense then, but may be about facilitating the individual’s transition to the other or higher self – the one that is able to imagine a state of being which is not yet manifest, whether that be here, or in the hereafter.
In this respect, struggling with the last remnants of the 3rd Act and imagining the unknown territory of the 4th act are probably the most difficult of all for mankind, but Debbie truly has the compassion and skills to help patients and families make sense of the situation and look to the future, wherever that may lie. She sees reflection on one’s life story as leading to a greater sense of integration, wholeness. That’s why the telling and re-telling of one’s story, “milling it over,” is so important, she says, and constitutes the prime work of older age. Such Chaplaincy demonstrates how our later years can prove such a fertile, productive, time spiritually.
Debbie continues to provide invaluable ‘aftercare’ to families of deceased residents and only recently I attended the annual remembrance service, “In Celebration of Life,” which was held in the day room where my Mother and I shared many happy hours. It was wonderful because it felt as though we still shared a home!
Along with Marlfield, Debbie’s service provided a most fulfilling, comforting and joyful closure to the life I shared with my Mother. And as the elderly population grows, I am sure that Chaplaincy for the elderly will form a vital component of healthcare provision and will, who knows, eventually stretch way, way beyond physical constraints. In fact, one day I hope that family members and friends who are spread across the globe can utilise the Chaplaincy facility to reach out to the dying via text, phone, Skype or similar video conferencing, so loved ones need never be apart during those precious final years, days and moments. A Chaplain is certainly a true friend in the here and the hereafter.
A DVD documentary of Debbie’s Chaplaincy work and in which my Mother and I featured, can be purchased for £5.00. Contact
debbie.simeon.chaplain@hotmail.
co.uk
Above: Mum as a Conservative Councillor in Fleet in the 1990’s. 23 entrepreneurcountry Debbie Thrower
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