Mary Labyak, HOSPICE has lost a Grand Dame and Pioneer...

MARY LABYAK

A

visionary

a

Pioneer

a

Grand Dame

of the

Hospice World

died in her home 

under the care of

the hospice that she created 

more than 30 years ago.

 ~Feb 4, 2011 ~

We Will Miss A Phenomenal Woman

who began a journey

fueled with passion

and

the honest desire to make end of life

care

better for patients

and

those who love them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXrmAKBBTU

...

Thank you

Mary

for shaping the care

and

the world of

Hospice

through

your lifes work through the years.

...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSaZK_BE-JY

YOU will be missed terribly

as

Hospice now must find its way

without you and your guidance

you

were a beacon that shined brightly

in this life

and

I have no doubt

that you will continue to shine now

on the other side.

Mary, Taft and I

...

Mary once a little girl from a small town

that I still after all these years cannot pronounce well
in

Michigan

grew into a Grand Dame of HOSPICE;
one respected around the world,

a

Licensed Social Worker,
a woman of boundless energy
and
passion beyond words,
she earned the rights as
she
"walked the walk and talked the talk"
like few we will ever meet in today's world,

She was a force to be reckoned with,
one who was no stranger to

Capital Hill as she advocated for

patients and families

in the provision of

Hospice Care for Americans
and
those around the globe.

She was a "fierce" and strong voice

in the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

and

the National Hospice Foundation.

...

She traveled the world speaking to thousands and thousands
along the way

and set standards for hospice care and access to services across the world since 1977.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1290433898412362561

I could sit and listen to Mary talk for hours

and

she knew how to talk!
She had me at "hello" a hundred or so years ago when we first met, and first hugged;

and I always would laugh and tell her I had her name and a white rose tattooed over my heart!

She would laugh that most wonderful and deep laugh at that thought,
she had a laugh that could fill a room!

She was a brilliant woman, a beautiful woman,

and

a woman who received awards, praise,
even judgment along the way

and made a lasting impact on many along her journey.

...

She started out this thing known as hospice, in a garage, with a few folks and worked one end of Pinellas County *the largest county in Florida* to the other; and  that little garage with a paper sack of papers just grew and grew
to become

the worlds largest hospice in the world! One that others stood,  and admired,

and

heaven help them now that she is gone!

...

The end of an era

and

a woman who

stood for and advocated for

patients and those who loved them and the communites that they called home.

...

She leaves behind many who

will grieve her

many who will be better for knowing her

many who will

need time to adjust their lens of viewing

the world of

hospice and life itself

without

her.

She has been an inspiration to many, has angered others, and won the hearts of still others who would do just about anything for her.

She often would tell folks she sees things in

circles, *nothing linear about Mary*,

and circles will miss her terribly

now that she has

gone on to dance in the

Universal Circle of the Great Creator.

She always wanted all to remember

to put families and patients in

the center of the circle
and the first thing she would ask about just about anything is, "how will this help or benefit the patient and/or the family"!

So,

as we try to wrap our head around a world

that circles without Mary as the one

who stirs the very circle of hospice care, it's going to take some time,
she is a legend in her time.

...

We will continue to know

her landmark beginnings
and I hope folks
will continue to remind others of her impact
many

have grown and continue to grow

as we know

we must educate

and

work to get into more and more lives

sooner.

If we establish relationships when folks are ill, whether or not they find cures,

we will have already established relationships,

we will allow them to know

we are there

should a crisis occur

should the need arise,

they will know

we are here

we can be trusted.

Mary most recently in the last year or two

learned first hand

the world of illness

and

Cancer

...

She fought a hard battle against Cancer and her life was changed by all that involved

but

it was through the stories of others

that she got a first hand experience

of

suffering

along her journey.

She says she learned a lot on suffering

and

things she didn't understand personally;

things like

"they about have to kill ya to cure ya, as I have never been sick a day in my life, but the treatment about killed me."

...

Her lessons learned while sitting in the chemo rooms

were vast

and intense.

She believed that we cannot be satisfied to care as hospice only at the end of lives,

we have a responsibility to find a way to get involved much earlier

in the course of people's illness to not only help with physical illness and suffering

but

to find ways to live their lives better.

"And if they happen to come to hospice for end of life care later; then they will already be our friends". Mary Labyak

Here's a rose for you Mary,
it may just be the one we laughed about all those years

I know she saw it,

just as I had a vision about her death at some odd hours of the mornin yesterday...

I spent the day unsettled and in my heart

I knew

...

Mary said when accepting her award

last year,

that she didn't have any unfinished business for herself.
 Her's had been a journey that she had lived fully.

I pray that true for her,

I pray her death was easy, peaceful, calm, painless

and that she danced into the

next place with her distinct and reamrkable Mary style and grace;

and

that she was with her beloved Taft.

I will hold her in my heart always

as

I do believe she was

a beautiful woman

who truly lived a life

that was awe-inspiring.
And...
OH that voice; how I loved Mary's voice,
she just had one of those
"I could sit and listen all day long" kind of voices!
...
When Mary walked into a room back in the day of Hospice conferences across the country,;
the room would hush,
folks would part
to give her space
and
at times she and another grand dame,
Dr Bernice Catherine Harper
would walk through that crowd
and take breaths away;
it was like Moses parting the red seas
when those two entered a room!
Oh how we will miss her.
...
Those were some
"grand days of hospice"

Hospice is a better place

because

Mary Labyak

was a pioneer
a
warrior

who set a standard

and

walked the walk

from

back in the day

right up

until the day

she died.

Thank you dear Mary

for our times together

and

I do believe

we

had some good times

...

Every Day Is A Gift

...

Dance on in the galaxies Mary

it is YOUR time now

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“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”   

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Walk In Beauty

DRSES

a grateful hospice "kola"

Healing Heartaches,

Stories of Loss and Life

www.drsherryeshowalter.com

Prayers goin up today

for all in the

Prayer Bowl

YOU know who you are

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