Ramon, a hardened man with a history of incarceration, had lived outside for the past ten years.  His “homeboys” would no longer let him come stay at their house because “he gets too crazy”.  But the good hospice volunteer began taking him to AA meetings and to feed the ducks—which may have been just as important.  This “tough” man moved into Sarah House and started to decorate his room with, would you believe, teddy bears and angels!  He loves going to the market with the staff to do the shopping, always wanting to bring us somethi

Maria, 40 years old, was the youngest child of a strong Catholic family who had raised their six children in the Santa Barbara area.  Mom and Dad, now in their seventies, and all six children along with various spouses and children were devastated to find out that Aunt Maria had a large and growing brain tumor.  She would not be able to pursue her second career in soil studies as she had dreamed.

Maria held on bravely, doing exercises that no longer helped her to regain her strength.  One night she grabbed a lamp from her bedside table and teased that she was working on her biceps by raising the still lit lamp far over her—up and down like a barbell.

Recently a woman living through her last weeks of HIV moved into the House.  Her T-cell count was 1.  Veronica had lived the last few months in the Psychiatric Health Facility.  Now she was dying.  Veronica's life had been hard.  Not only was she ending many years of HIV, but she had also a long life story of addiction and serious mental health issues.

But once again, it was Veronica herself who spoke with great clarity and nobility about dying well and living well.

On the day she moved in, nervous and concerned about how the others would like her, Veronica extended her hand quietly to the first staff person to whom she was introduced.  "I respond really well to kindness," she said simply.

Karyn moved in today after six months as a patient at City of Hope. Her treatments for a virulent leukemia were unsuccessful. She desperately wanted to come home and see the coastline one more time. She returned to Santa Barbara for the last days of her life. When the AMR folks wheeled her into her Sarah House bedroom, she put her head into her hands and cried, “A picture window! "