Hospice Patient’s Wishes Granted

Silverado Hospice was started because nurses in our communities believed our memory care residents deserved the same high levels of compassionate care as they approached the ends of their journeys. But starting Silverado Hospice also mean that we could attend to the physical, spiritual and mental needs of people facing death form other illnesses. The story of Morrissia Sauer in a wonderful example of the magic our hospice teams create so that our patients can have dignity at the end of their journeys.

When Morrissia first came under the care of Silverado South Houston Hospice she had just been diagnosed with end-stage heart disease, but she soon learned that she had a lot more experiences ahead of her. 

Morrissia was 50 years old when she started hospice and, as is only natural, felt as though there was so much she still wanted to do. With the help of the Silverado team she created a bucket list of what she’d like to experience before she passed away. 

Her first wish fulfilled was simple, but incredibly meaningful – dinner at Red Lobster, the site of her first date with her loving husband. Morrissia’s congestive heart failure meant that going out to a restaurant was not really an option, but after some footwork from the hospice team the restaurant donated a lovely dinner that was delivered and served in the most romantic way possible. But Morrissia still had dreams to be fulfilled…

While she was married, Morrissia and her husband had never actually celebrated with a proper ceremony. To give her the dream wedding she had always wanted but never had, the hospice team contacted the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston and went to work. While there was a large waiting list to host weddings there, they agreed to make time. Soon Morrissia and her husband had the ceremony they had always dreamed of, presided over by Silverado Hospice’s Chaplain. 

When we first met Morrissia, her advice to the rest of us was to never waste a minute. Live every day like it is your last.

And that’s the last lesson she left us with as she walked down the aisle. Her pastor told her love is eternal. But she showed us all how you should walk with purpose knowing that time in life’s aisle is finite for us all.