Melissa Gilbert and Children’s Hospice – LA Magazine
Melissa Gilbert – Celebrity Mom Makes A Difference For Seriously Ill Children
by Mac Duffy
Melissa Gilbert has been hard at work trying to get The Nick Snow Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Act, a Federal waiver of Hospice eligibility requirements, passed in the California Senate. Melissa revealed that “Right now, a child has to qualify (to receive Hospice care)…One of the problems is that…children, just by their nature, will fight more and, many times, will get better. However, if a family tries to go for new treatment, Hospice, their entire network of support, is taken away.”
Fortunately, the Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition is devoted to helping families with seriously ill children prepare for what may come. “I often tell people the words “children” and “hospital” shouldn’t go together,” says Melissa, “but they do. Children should be allowed to pass on with grace, peace, and dignity. It should be just as revered an occasion as when they are born. The support that Hospice provides is invaluable.”
Melissa, now a member of the Children’s Hospice Board of Directors, doesn’t want to be “just a spokesperson”. She wants “to be there with the children and know what they are going through,” so she enrolled in an End of Life Nursing Education Consortium, a seminar that teaches Pediatric Palliative Nurses end of life care. “I don’t know everything, but I’ve learned a lot about what it takes…Now, I’ve begun the quest to educate people.”
Devon Dabbs & Lori Butterworth, co-Founders of the Children’s Hospice, applaud “the incredible difference Melissa has made in the lives of seriously ill children and their families on behalf of Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition.”
Devon and Lori first met Melissa at an event for children with cancer. When Melissa learned of the Children’s Hospice bracelet campaign to raise awareness, she was among the first to get the bracelets on the wrists of her family and friends, including George Clooney, Jennifer Garner and Johnny Depp, who, inspired by the bracelet’s “profound simplicity,” wears his everyday.
Melissa credits her family with helping her find balance. Married to actor, Bruce Boxleitner, and mother to four sons, she makes it a point to spend as much time with her family as possible. “Monday nights we are together no matter what…We have incredible conversations. I’m very blessed.”
It’s the children she’s met through the Hospice, though, that keep her moving forward. “(They) have taught me such valuable lessons about what is to come,” she shares. “Children of all religious backgrounds tell me detailed stories (with) many common themes. It’s so profound and they believe it so strongly that I cannot help but believe it, too.”
That belief drives Melissa and the rest of the amazing staff at the Children’s Hospice to help give the children and their families the wings they need to soar, whether it is here on Earth or into their next destination.
Please take a moment and visit www.childrenshospice.org to learn more about the Children’s Hospice and The Nick Snow Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Act. While you are there, help the kids by ordering a bracelet.
Mac Duffy has been a storyteller for over 15 years as performer, writer, director, and puppeteer. For more information on his “Adventures with Mac Duffy – Interactive Storytelling for the Whole Family”, visit www.macduffy.com.