In honor of Marian

Published 11:40 am Friday, June 12, 2009

Marian Boverhuis may have only been in the hospice program for the last eight or nine days of her life, but the care she received made a lasting impression on her family.

That’s why members of her family make it a point to walk in the annual Friends of Hospice Walk/Run around Fountain Lake. This year’s event will be held on Saturday.

Marian died on June 1, 2002. The walk that year was held on June 15, close to the time Marian and her husband, Howard, would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary (June 18), so the family decided to take part in the walk as a way to honor her memory. They’ve been there every year since.

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According to Marian’s daughter, Maribeth Walton of Albert Lea, Marian was first diagnosed with colon cancer in November of 1981. She had surgery and 50 radiation treatments. When the cancer returned, it spread to the radiated areas of her body, Walton said.

In those 21 years since her original diagnosis, cancer treatment came a long way, and doctors were able to learn that the type of cancer she had was genetic. That means family members could be tested to find out if they carried the mutated gene and, if so, undergo cancer screenings earlier in life. Three of Marian’s children do have the gene, which can in turn be passed on to their children and grandchildren.

The family also entered a research program through the Mayo Clinic, Walton said.

When her doctor suggested Marian enter the hospice program, she was very much ready for it, Walton said. “She had been in the hospital twice, so she was very open to it, knowing a nurse could be there within 10 minutes.”

Hospice care focuses on quality of life when a cure is no longer possible. It addresses the total physical, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals, while assisting their loved ones to provide care and support in comfortable, familiar surroundings.

The hospice staff always was willing to answer any questions the family had, Walton added.

Hospice took care of her medication needs and when it came time for her to use a hospital bed, it was there in a matter of hours, the family said.

“I think hospice helped me be able to come to terms with her death,” she said.

And it helped Marian herself come to terms with it.

She knew when she woke up on June 1, 2002, that it would be her last day on earth, her family said. Walton’s son was having his graduation open house that day, so with the help of her friends and children, the event went on as scheduled, and Walton was able to spend time with her mother.

At one point, her mother told her to go to the party and come back when it was finished — she’d still be there when she got back, Walton recalled.

And she was — for about 20 minutes.

Crossroads Community Hospice gave the family books that helped them understand death better.

“A lot of the things she’d seen made sense to us,” Marian’s daughter, Cheryl Boverhuis said.

“To the end, she never gave up hope,” Walton added. “Spiritually, she was ready.”

The family has made the walk an annual event, not missing a single year since.

“Since it falls in June, it’s a special month for it,” Walton said.

The family continues to do it not only because they are grateful to the hospice program, but because they have a lot of fun doing it, Cheryl Boverhuis said.

“I think it takes a special person to do hospice,” said Curt Underdahl, Marian’s brother.

There will be 20 to 22 family members taking part this year, Walton said.

The family also participates in the Relay for Life in August.

Registration for the walk begins at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds, with the walk/run from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. A silent auction featuring autographed Minnesota Twins memorabilia will be held from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Money raised by the event will be used to support bereavement and volunteer services.