One of the emotionally difficult experiences a person can go through in life is to slowly watch a loved one succumb to a terminal illness like cancer. Nowadays, we’re lucky enough that cures are presently being discovered to such a previously incurable disease. However, not everyone gets to be so lucky, and even while they’re trying to fight and not give up on themselves, they still experience so much pain and discomfort. Thankfully, hospices are around to help cancer patients and their loved ones deal with such a painful and confusing condition.
The Hospice Foundation said it best in a statement they made to the media: “Grief is often overlooked, misunderstood, and undervalued in terms of its impact on individuals and society. HFA strives to inform people of their options when they are facing a life-limiting illness, how hospice can help make the journey easier, and how to cope with grief.”
One particular hospice, the Hospice of the Western Reserve, is finding ways to make their cancer patients as happy as possible in the time that they have left with their loved ones by getting the help of a non-profit organization called The Flight to Remember Foundation. The said foundation aims to give hospice care patients a little joy by creating drone videos that will enable them to relieve their happier memories and revisit familiar places. Owner Ashley Davis has said of the process, “Our participants and their families select a location that is meaningful to them. Our pilots will go to these special locations and fly their drones, capturing breathtaking views from heights up to 400 ft. We then create a video for our participants, who can watch it comfortably while resting in their bed, surrounded by loved ones.”
The drone videos that are conceptualized, shot, and edited by the Flight to Remember Foundation have served to enrich the lives of the cancer patients who are expecting the end of their days. In one case, a patient, Jim Plescia, had the wonderful chance to revisit what had been a bucket list destination to him and his friends. In 2009, he had gone on a memorable trip to Italy with his wife and their friends. A few years later, he was diagnosed with a rare brain disorder that increasingly progressed until it took away all his mobile and bodily functions and even affected his spirits. His wife, Suzanne, knew she had to do something to make her husband happy once again despite his condition.
This was where The Flight to Remember Foundation came in. With the help of drones and a pilot, they were able to take Jim and Suzanne on a virtual trip back to Italy, where they once again saw all the wonderful views that had been imprinted into their memories.
The Flight to Remember Foundation helps people in hospice care make the most out of the time they have left by helping them to relive their happy memories and visit or revisit places they could no longer possibly go to on their own.
