Las Vegas residents find healing and meaning as hospital volunteers

Doctors did not expect Jennifer Pollock to past a aesculapian exigency 12 years ago. And erstwhile she did, but nary longer knew her husband’s sanction oregon those of her children, she asked God why.

“Here I americium a ma to small kids and I adjacent person a hard clip adjacent being a mom,” recalled the 58-year-old Las Vegas nonmigratory of the aboriginal days of her recovery.

“God, wherefore americium I here?” she had asked. “Because it’s not easy, you know? And it’s a occurrence that I’m alive. So helium indispensable person wanted maine present for something.”

Pollock believes she recovered her reply successful volunteering with Lutheran Church Charities’ comfortableness canine ministry. The ministry is based connected the content that a sweet-natured aureate retriever whitethorn supply much solace than words unsocial can.

Partnered with Lois, a 7-year-old aureate retriever, Pollock visits hospitals, nursing homes, schools and churches astir the valley. They are regulars astatine Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center eastbound of the Strip, wherever the comfortableness canine programme holds a peculiar status.

For 18 months, unpaid programs astatine Sunrise were suspended owed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although immoderate programs person resumed, volunteers inactive aren’t allowed to sojourn diligent rooms, with the objection of the dogs and their handlers.

‘A medicine almost’

“We look astatine our therapy animals arsenic aesculapian — a medicine almost,” explained Tracy Szymanski, the hospital’s manager of diligent transport and enactment services. As such, they are allowed to sojourn those floors that don’t person COVID-19 patients.

Pollock and Lois sojourn rooms lone erstwhile asked, sometimes by a household subordinate who volition spot them successful a hallway. Some patients petition regular visits, particularly those without adjacent household members, Szymanski said. Both employees and patients find comfortableness successful petting Lois, and besides successful chatting with Pollock and different handlers.

People favored and hug Lois, crying sometimes. “Most of the clip they’ll commencement to speech and they’ll conscionable benignant of springiness a small spot of that accent out, and the emotions out, and we conscionable listen,” Pollock said. Sometimes they volition each past accidental a prayer.

Comfort dogs from Lutheran Church Charities were dispatched to Las Vegas from astir the state aft the wide shooting connected the Strip connected Oct. 1, 2017, erstwhile a gunman from a edifice operation fired down upon a state euphony festival. The dogs, including Lois, visited country hospitals, including Sunrise. Lois, who lives with Pollock, is owned by the First Lutheran Church and School successful Las Vegas

“It was conscionable beauteous to ticker the accent from the household members conscionable for a infinitesimal spell away,” arsenic good arsenic the accent of staff, said Szymanski, herself a subsister of the shooting.

When aboriginal pandemic restrictions kept them retired of hospitals and different facilities, Pollock and chap unpaid Diana Schneck tried to link Lois with the satellite via Zoom. The experimentation was not wholly successful.

“We tried Zoom. Lois doesn’t recognize Zoom,” Schneck said. Instead of looking astatine the screen, Lois would conscionable privation to prevarication down.

‘Doing thing useful’

Across municipality astatine MountainView Hospital, unpaid Ernie Hernandez did not similar being furloughed by the lockdown and became the archetypal unpaid to instrumentality to work erstwhile pandemic restrictions eased.

“I missed it,” said Hernandez, who is 84. “Just staying astatine home, it was capable to thrust you crazy.”

Hernandez staffs the accusation table astatine the aesculapian bureau gathering that is portion of the MountainView field successful the northwest valley. He joined his wife, Madeline, arsenic a unpaid astatine the infirmary much than 2 decades ago.

Hernandez said helium knew the infinitesimal helium saw Madeline — a redhead from Dublin, Ireland, who went by the nickname Rusty — that she was the 1 for him.

“Seven weeks later, connected a Saturday morning, we were married,” helium said.. “And past a small implicit 54 years, connected a Saturday morning, I mislaid her.”

Rusty died successful 2014 of a bosom attack, arsenic Hernandez performed CPR portion waiting for an ambulance.

“I stayed location a mates — 3 — weeks, and each the kids came successful and they left,” said Hernandez, who has 4 children. “When I was sitting reasoning astir that and looking astatine 4 walls, I decided that wasn’t good. And I came backmost (to the hospital). It was bully therapy for me.”

On a caller morning, the Marine and erstwhile Boeing pb mechanic directed a dependable watercourse of radical to doctor’s offices passim the tower, their locations committed to memory.

Hernandez exceeded the telephone of the work astatine the accusation table by performing CPR connected a antheral who had a seizure and wasn’t breathing. The incident, reminiscent of erstwhile his woman had a bosom attack, was traumatic for Hernandez. But the antheral made a afloat recovery.

Hernandez has clocked conscionable shy of 10,000 hours arsenic a unpaid astatine MountainView.

“I conscionable support it up. I consciousness that I’m doing thing useful,” helium said.

Contact Mary Hynes astatine mhynes@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 connected Twitter.