Life, Death & Acceptance: Catherine Mosher, Dignity in dying at HopeWest Hospice.

I met and interviewed Cathrine Mosher in her large room at HopeWest Hospice on February 17, 2016. The hospice room, not looking like anything you'd see in a hospital...but maybe in a mansion in the Redlands. Wood floors, rich and comfortable colors throughout, plants and some flowers...simple but elegant... the only sign of a hospital...the bed. The electric sleeping unit, with it's buttons, cords, the green and red lights, monitoring the frail body of Catherine, lying there, the bed is adjusted so Catherine is sitting up a bit. Huge windows with views of mountains to the South and the Colorado National Monument. It is incredibly comfortable for what it is... A place for people to die with dignity and peace. I had no idea what Catherine looked like before she got her terminal cancer...once I did...the transformation is dramatic and the effects of cancer and the treatments ...radical on the body. Catherine is frail, with a big smile, her sunken eyes yellow from jaundice...but it's the light and her spirit which shine through what is left of her shell. In our 30 minute interview. SHE is full of life, understands what's ahead and has made peace with her life, her children and whatever may lie ahead after this life is over. Acceptance, was her theme in the interview, she must have repeated it 10-20 times. Honesty, "brutally honest"...was the other theme. Telling me over and over that she is proud of her candid and upfront nature with everyone and everything in her life ...including with her children. 

Born in Rangely, lived in Fruita and now, Catherine will die peacefully and comfortably in Grand Junction at HopeWest Hospice.  There is so much more about Catherine Mosher...there is no way My 30 minute interview or  90-second AllGood News can capture. But this is what I came away with... Catherine Mosher, was a mother, a wife, a teacher, a friend, a fighter, devoted and honest. Like it or not , I have a feeling she wouldn't have had a problem saying it. And in what would be some people's darkest moments? She was a light, she was candid and she was so positive. And, she allowed me to come into her world, if only for a moment and she made ME feel comfortable. That is a true measure of Character, Heart and Spirit. 

I'm posting this story on April 2,, 2016. I found out Catherine passed away on March 6, 2016.  I was sad...for not putting this together sooner so she could hear how wonderful she sounds and is...but, I think her family, her sons...and most importantly, she knew and knows...that her time on this earth was well spent, and even in the face of adversity she smiled and passed knowing... she was who she was ...and the world wasn't going to change that. 

Here is Catherine Betty Mosher's "Good News"

If you are interested in knowing more about Hospice of HopeWest please feel free to visit their website or call. 

HopeWestco.org

In the Grand Valley - 970-257-2401  

A special thanks to Alyssa Hampson of HopeWest for setting up this interview and her help throughout the process.