6 minute read
There's No Place Like Home!
There’s no place like home!
There’s no place ... like Home!
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Levada (Harris) Matthews
Santa Barbara High School, Class of 1967
David is a dedicated VNA Health volunteer, and is married to Easter Moorman, VNA Health’s Director of Marketing. Both David and Easter have long known about VNA Health and its legacy of care; but they did not expect that they would feel the power of that legacy and gain a whole new perspective on what it means to live well.
Levada, a longtime Santa Barbara resident, had moved to the East Coast after her job at UCSB promoted her to UC headquarters in Washington D.C. For nearly 20 years, Levada made a life across the country, and while she enjoyed her time there, she always missed her beloved hometown.
Then a few years ago, Levada was diagnosed with cancer, and as her illness progressed, she decided to come out to stay in Santa Barbara for a bit to spend quality time with family and friends. While on the West Coast, she decided to make a trip to Oregon to visit other family members. “My mother was really sick,” David shared. “We were anticipating that she’d probably live a little bit longer if she stuck with her recommended plan of care from the doctors; but she decided she was going to live her life the way that she wanted to… and like…I can completely understand in retrospect why people would want to do that rather than go through the potentially painful medical route versus just living out your life to the best of your abilities.”
During her visit in Oregon, Levada’s condition deteriorated quickly to the point of hospitalization. Upon hearing this news, David and Larry decided that they needed to bring their mom home, back to Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, she needed medical transport to be able to safely make the trip. David and his family knew that if she was at end of life, she would want to be close to her family in Santa Barbara; however, they couldn’t afford to medically transport her back home. Additionally, if they were to get her home, they knew that she would need to stay in a medical facility as they did not have the medical equipment or expertise to properly care for her at home.
Santa Barbara California
While these challenges seemed enormous, they were able to overcome them with the help of friends, and the support of VNA Health. David and his brother borrowed a medical van from a friend, drove 16 hours straight to Oregon, picked up Levada, and immediately turned around to make the long drive back to Santa Barbara. The drive was daunting, as not only was it very long, but they had to continually change oxygen tanks in the van to keep Levada stabilized.
They knew that the only place appropriate to manage Levada’s condition would be Serenity House. Easter worked with the Serenity House team to secure an open room for Levada, and Serenity House staff remained on-call, waiting for the brothers to arrive from Oregon with Levada.
“So, when we drove her from Oregon to get down to Serenity House, we got back to Santa Barbara at like 3 in the morning,” said David. “The staff greeted us like it was regular business hours, which is really, really awesome. They made it really easy to get Mom checked in.”
What could have been a more detrimental journey, transformed into a peaceful homecoming. Levada was immediately made comfortable in her beautiful room; and David and Larry could finally relax knowing their mom was in good hands. The next day, Levada was offered special wrap-around services like Music Therapy and Reiki, which makes hospice care through VNA Health unique.
“She was getting a foot massage and therapy, and little massages and music, and just unfettered access for us as family to come and go at all hours of the day and night…just as we wanted to… beyond accommodating. It was pretty amazing.”
Most important to Levada was that her friends and family had unlimited, ‘round-the-clock access to visit her and share precious, final moments. “When she was still lucid and everything, she was stoked [about Serenity House],” recalled David.
“The comfort she had right there: the music, the sunshine, the view…I mean, it’s why people come to visit Santa Barbara, you know… for those of us who were lucky enough to grow up here and appreciate it…it’s super special.”
Serenity House offers 18 private rooms, each with an en-suite bathroom, convertible chair/bed for an overnight guest, and private patio with a view. In addition, Serenity House has a large family room with a kid-friendly play area, a dining area with a coffee bar, and a patio deck for family and friends to spend quality time.
“She stayed in room 101 the Thomas and Anne Crawford room, looking out over Santa Barbara. I think for her you could probably see her old house on the East Side. She kept saying ‘I’m home, I got to come home.’ And she was so happy to be home.”
Serenity House provided David, Easter, Larry and their family the space and peace of mind to be there for Levada and with each other. Regardless of how much time they had with Levada, it was more about fully embracing the opportunity to be together at home in Santa Barbara.
“The burden that you didn’t even realize was crushing you is lifted off your shoulders when you have an organization like VNA Health and a facility like Serenity House to help you with your loved ones in their most precarious state that they’re going to be in. The assistance is just incredible, I don’t know how I would’ve been able to function,” David explained.
The Moorman family and Levada’s extensive network of friends and colleagues visited and called whenever they wanted during the week she was at Serenity House. Thanks to the amazing efforts of family and friends and the specialized care at Serenity House, Levada was surrounded by those she loved in the hometown she loved. More importantly, Levada faced end of life on her terms with dignity, ultimately giving her family peace.
Left to right: Drew VanTuyl ("My Son from another mother" as Levada would say) with Larry and David Moorman.
Levada at the VNA Health 2017 Mother’s Day Luncheon where she volunteered for the 3-Generation Fashion Show with David and her granddaughter Arielle. Left to right: Grandson Jonathan, Levada, David, Easter and Arielle.
Photo Credit: Rhianna Mercier Photography.
“Having gone through losing a parent and having the support of everyone at VNA Health…you know… is incredible. It’s a resource that I don’t think people contemplate that they’re going to need, but my gosh when it comes to you and you’re the beneficiary of the support, and also from my mother’s side, being the beneficiary of all that love and support and everything and being able to transition peacefully like that, you really couldn’t ask for more.”
VNA Health Hospice Nursing Team
VNA Health staff and volunteers devote their time, expertise and heart to support a longtime mission of caring for our community with compassion and integrity. Caring for our own VNA Health family is an honor, especially for a beloved staff member and a devoted volunteer, to ensure that they too, can live well.
