YORK, Pa. — Making the decision to begin hospice care is never easy. Matt and Lisa Calderone once viewed hospice as a place where people go to die but quickly realized it was a chance for their family to live life to the fullest.
Lisa, who passed away in 2019, was aided by the services of Hospice & Community Care for the last year and a half of her life. Her husband Matt said it was a decision that changed their lives.
"For me, it was just being able to step back become more of a husband than a caregiver," he said. "It's something that we allowed us to become a family again. I didn't have to run out for medication. We had doctors coming to the house, we had the nurses that came into the house helped us out with everything... so we were able to step back and breathe for a little while."
Amy Lewis, the director of philanthropy and Hospice & Community Care, knows Matt's and his family's experience is just one example of many.
"We really do consider it a privilege in helping these people to live with what time they have left," Lewis said.
In order for her organization to keep providing these services to community members, Lewis says donations, not matter how small, go a long way.
"That money is gonna go right back to patients and families just like Matt," Lewis explained. "At the end, they knew what the result was going to be...but hospice was able to help and be there and give them time to just be a family again...and that is incredibly special."
As for Matt Calderone, the memory and care given to Lisa will live on.
"Hospice was there every day," he said. "We had family and friends there every day laughing and crying. Lisa was more alive those last six weeks than she had been previously."
On May 6, from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., donors can visit this link to support local nonprofits in and around York County. Hospice Care & Community is just one of the organizations that will benefit from the day of giving.
To learn more, check out their website.