REMEMBERING
Let Their Lights Shine campaign celebrating 25 years of supporting Hospice P.E.I.
Hospice trees across the province raise funds and honour loved ones
SUMMERSIDE – As she signed her husband’s name on the paper, she added a little heart for good measure.
It seemed appropriate; her heart is where his memory now resides.
And this year, for a little while at least, she will share a piece of that remembrance by hanging the decoration on a Christmas tree for all to see.
In 2018, Earl Gallant of Summerside died after a years-long struggle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In the final years of his life, Earl and his wife, Debbie Taylor-Gallant, received a tremendous amount of support from Hospice P.E.I. When that organization launched its annual Let Their Lights Shine campaign this year, Taylor-Gallant jumped at the chance to not only volunteer her time taking donations but also sharing her hospice story.
Looking back at the final year of her husband’s life, she says she cannot imagine what it would have been like without the supports provided by the organization.
“They were an integral part of our support system.”
“That’s what really stood out for me – that these are people who are wanting to be with us during, probably, the most difficult time in our lives and share that journey with us.”
“They were incredible people,” she said.
In the last years of his life, Earl was mostly confined to his bedroom and then to his bed for his final months.
Hospice volunteers would come and sit with him during the day, several times a week, at home and then in the hospital.
Knowing that her husband had that support allowed Taylor-Gallant to keep working at Summerside’s ADL plant, which not only made it possible to keep the bills paid but also provided her with the emotional support of her work family, she said.
“Earl understood that while I was his support, my support was at work.”
Having those hospice visitors always brightened their days,
she said.
“I could always tell when his volunteers had been there in the afternoon. He seemed a little bit
brighter, a little bit more perky,” she said.
Taylor-Gallant also accessed grief support services through Hospice P.E.I. after Earl’s death.
With all that hospice did for them, it was the least she could do to help the organization, she added.
Let Their Lights Shine is one of the major annual fundraisers for Hospice P.E.I.
There are Christmas trees installed throughout the province that are looked after by volunteers. Summerside’s is at the Granville Street Superstore. Anyone who would like to can make a donation, write the name of a loved one on a decoration and hang it on the tree in remembrance. They are also invited to turn on one of the tree’s lights as a symbol of memories kept alive and burning bright.
Liz Parsons, Hospice P.E.I. volunteer co-ordinator for the East Prince region, said this year is extra important for the organization because it marks the 25th anniversary of Let Their Lights Shine.
This is always a special time of year, and that anniversary just makes it more so, said Parsons.
“Oftentimes when someone has died, and they’ve had hospice support the last thing the families can think of is saying thank you to hospice. Down the track when they’ve recovered from their time of grief, they often come to the Christmas trees as a way to give back, and we hear wonderful stories at the tables,” she said