Gets her dying wish for a lakeside dinner
COVENTRY TWP. – The night was lovely for a meal by the lake.
A bright sun shimmered on the water as it slowly fell behind some trees across from the docks Wednesday night at Pick’s at PLX.
A few ripples disturbed the calm water. The chatter and laughter from diners added to the ambiance.
It was nearly the perfect dying wish for 72-year-old Marlene Hays.
She said, chuckling: “I wanted to be on the beach, have a nice meal and go with my ‘boyfriend.’ They did everything but bring the boyfriend. That they left out.” She added that she hadn’t had a vacation in years.
Declining health
Her last wish was coordinated by Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital Hospice Care Services, Chapel Hill Skilled Nursing Facility in Canal Fulton and Pick’s owner Rick Erks.
Born in Akron, Hays lived most of her life in Green. She cleaned businesses and helped adults with mental health issues at Choices, a social center. She also is a talented artist. Hays has been a resident of Chapel Hill for the last six years after her health declined. She recently moved into hospice care there.
“I got a lot wrong with me” Hays said, without specifying her specific ailments.
But, on this night, it was all right.
Guest of honor
Hays, chauffeured by ambulance, arrived at Pick’s with guests – her caregivers. She had a pink flower in her hair to match her outfit.
She smiled and waved at Mercy hospice chaplain Rev. Doug Gregory. He spearheaded the arrangements with Pick’s which included a table by the lake.
“I said whatever she needs,” said
Erks, also executive chef. For him and his staff, “this is a proud moment.”
Gregory, Cullen Hardman, a community educator for Mercy’s Hospice, and caregivers from Chapel Hill dined with Hays at Pick’s. She ate sausage and peppers, and a small cup of chili.
Hardman said the other part of the wish – the beach – was more difficult to achieve. So they brought sand to Hays to feel on her toes.
Sand between toes
Hays wiggled her toes in the Cleveland Browns bucket and chuckled. “It’s been a long time,” Hays said. She was asked: “Can you feel the sand?”
Again, she chuckled. “Nothing’s wrong with my feet.”
Gregory said it is important to him to
make a final wish for a hospice patient a reality. He raved about Erks and his staff at Pick’s for their accommodations.
“To see the joy and the smiles, especially in these final moments of life, means a lot,” Gregory said.
Hays was flattered by all the attention, too.
“This is awesome,” she said. “I’m very grateful. I’m so happy they are doing this for me. I don’t really think I’m worthy. They claim I am.”
She has a daughter, a granddaughter and two great-grandchildren; all out of state. COVID-19 concerns have kept them away, Hays said.
She wanted them to know: “Grandma loves you.”
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-5808567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com
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