Sarah and Brent after a recent visit with Dorothy.

Loan Funding Rep Sarah Gantner and Loan Funding Team Leader Brent Neumann have been co-workers and friends for the last 10 years — and since March, they’ve volunteered together for Heartland Hospice, providing company to terminally ill people who have been given six months or less to live. Sarah and Brent share a patient, Dorothy, who turned 88 this week.

“Every Wednesday, Brent and I visit Dorothy at her assisted living home,” Sarah says. “She is very cute, witty, and funny. Brent brings his guitar along every week and plays and sings for her. She looks forward to our weekly visits, but Brent and I also look forward to them, because we find our time with her very fulfilling. If we can make a patient’s last months a little brighter, then we are doing our job.”

Dorothy has chronic bronchitis, and most of her family lives far away to visit often. She has a daughter who comes to see her occasionally, but her social worker thought she would benefit from more interaction with people and knew that Dorothy loved music. “Personally,” Brent says, “I think everyone could benefit from a visit and a song or two.”

Sarah came across Heartland Hospice while looking for volunteer opportunities online.

“Sarah knew I was going through some things in my life and also knew that volunteering would help me as much as it would help a patient,” Brent says.

“I came across a post looking for friendly visitors and music enrichment,” Sarah says. “Since Brent has the musical talent and I have the gift of gab, we thought we might fit the needs Heartland was looking for.”

To volunteer with Heartland, Sarah and Brent had to provide references — which the nonprofit actually checked, Sarah notes — get checked for tuberculosis, pass a background check, and attend a half-day training. A week later, they were matched with Dorothy. Typically, their visits with her last 45 minutes to an hour.

Sarah also sees another patient, Ron, a former ship’s captain, on her own. Ron is 57 and afflicted with a neurological disorder that is gradually paralyzing him; he is confined to a wheelchair and can no longer speak.

“It’s hard to see someone who was once the captain of a ship now unable to speak, walk, or take care of himself,” Sarah says. “It’s been a learning experience for me. I still leave his house each week with a smile on my face, hoping I brought a little joy to his day.”

Dorothy’s health has been up and down over time, but stable the last couple of weeks, Sarah reports.

“For a lot of people, the word or idea of hospice is uncomfortable,” Sarah says. “They look at it as someone who is ready to die. I look at it differently. These patients are living, and I want to interact, socialize, and make the most of the days they have left. I leave each visit knowing that for an hour or so, my patients forgot about the pain they might have that day. It’s very challenging and the most rewarding experience at the same time.”

“Some days are worse than others, but we haven’t confronted much decline,” Brent says. “We were trained to prepare for it, and we talk about it often. But there are also emotions I enjoy, which include seeing a smile on our patient’s face and hearing her sing along to ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love.’”

He adds: “Volunteering does not take a lot of your time. Making time in your schedule each week to be kind to someone, asking for nothing in return, has its own reward. The patients really appreciate it. I would recommend it to anyone.”

To find out more about Heartland Hospice, visit heartlandhospice.com.