Sam Owens was diagnosed more than three years ago with B-cell lymphoma. Even though he initially obtained a remission, his life was never the same. He was in and out of the hospital, struggled with many symptoms, and later had a recurrence.“There were many treatments and many near-death experiences,” says his wife Candace.
Candace and Sam went through the journey of cancer together. When most people would feel defeated and resort to a loss of hope –particularly after a canceled stem cell transplant due to pneumonia, memory issues, and other sequelae of this cruel disease – they started viewing life differently.“
Cancer changed us. Everything we knew changed and Sam turned into a different person. He saw life differently and embraced every moment. He started showing kindness and grace in a way that I had never seen before. He was grateful to everyone for everything during this time,” says Candace. “We both learned from the disease and going through cancer really drew us closer together. We saw kindness and became better people. It was a beautiful time in our relationship, despite the awfulness of cancer,” she continues.
Sam was an incredible person by all accounts. He owned Owens Insurance Agency and worked there all his life. He and Candace met thirty years ago, and they have four children. The last time that Sam was in the hospital, his physicians told him that it was time to talk about hospice care. He and Candace really wanted to spend their last days together in their own home, but because he was not quite ready physically to go home, he and Candace moved to Hospice Ministries Inpatient Hospice Center.
“I’ll always be grateful to Hospice Ministries because while we were in the inpatient center in Ridgeland, they knew our great desire was to be in our own home, and they worked with us every day to make that happen,” says Candace. They educated her on how to take care of Sam and really prepared her for their journey home. “Because of their help, we were able to move home and spend our last days together surrounded by the memories we had made over our lifetimes.
”During his stay at Hospice Ministries Inpatient, Sam became well-known to all the staff and volunteers. “They became like family to us, and when we got home, they continued to provide our hospice care. As part of our in-home hospice care, they came into our home and provided the highest quality care available. They took care of his every need during that time, including his baths and anything else that he needed. In between visits they called to check on him to see if he needed any help. They were incredible, and I can not express enough how I would not have been able to do this without their great attention to every detail. We experienced every aspect of Hospice Ministries – from the hospital room, tot he inpatient facility, and then in our own home. Hospice is a journey and an experience that Sam and I, along with Hospice Ministries, were on together. We were all together by his bedside when he passed away in April.”