On Dec. 15, retired Creston High School teacher Dennis Kuyper and his granddaughter Libby Henry donated two handmade, quilted lap robes to the HCI Hospice Care Services team at Greater Regional Hospice Home in Creston.
Kuyper and his 10-year-old granddaughter were inspired to make the lap robes by Kuyper’s late wife Barb, who spent her final days at Greater Regional Hospice Home several years ago. Barb Kuyper was a quilter and had been teaching her granddaughters the craft before her death.
Connie Quee, a nurse with HCI Hospice Care Services, recalls Barb’s time at the hospice home.
“I was working the day shift here on Christmas Day that year, and Barb was our only patient,” said Quee. “Dennis and his family celebrated their Christmas here at the house. They brought their traditional dinner and all their gifts here, played games in our gathering room and felt comfortable roaming back and forth between the gathering room and Barb’s room.”
Quee was also able to interact with the grandchildren and help them be present for their grandmother.
“We showed them how it was okay to touch her, kiss her, hold her hand and talk to her,” Quee said.
Following Barb’s death, her husband Dennis picked up on his wife’s passion and became a skilled quilter. This past summer, granddaughter Libby Henry asked Kuyper to continue quilting with her. Together, the pair completed two lap robes, which they donated to Greater Regional Hospice Home, providing comfort to future hospice patients and their families.