Victoria Hospice Society 2022 Annual Report Cover Illustration & Winter Card
This is the Richmond Pavilion building at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. This is where @victoriahospicesociety lives and where my Mom began her career as a unit clerk.
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She loved helping people here and would often volunteer to translate for chinese patients. I’ve had countless people tell me about how my Mom helped them or their loved ones. I know the idea of hospice can seem daunting, but this has never been a scary building to me. When my Dad was teaching me how to drive, we would practice in the parking lot while waiting for my Mom to get off work. Even after Mom transferred out of working in hospice, we would take the odd stroll through the peaceful rooftop Hospice Memorial Garden.
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When my Mom’s cancer stopped responding to chemotherapy, we spent months in and out of the hospital. It was a blur of ever-changing medications, appointments, medical jargon and dizzying worry. By the time she was transferred to @victoriahospicesociety , Mom was so relieved she could finally rest without being poked or prodded.
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It was in the rooms of this building that I began my art business - two days after my Mom was transferred into hospice I drove to London Drugs with my brother and didn’ t even shop around before buying an Ipad. My eyes were so puffy from crying but I was determined to draw all of our favourite places for Mom. The first place I drew was our restaurant, Tombo Japanese Restaurant. I barely knew how to draw digitally but Mom loved it nonetheless.
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Looking back, it is such a blessing that we had six weeks together before Mom left us. It took the hard work of an entire army of doctors, nurses, technicians, counsellors and more. The hospice society gave us that time together, and helped us keep Mom comfortable enough to enjoy it. I’ve been taking advantage of their grief counselling services too and could not imagine where I’d be without them. There wasn’t a single day in their care that we weren’t grateful for their never ending support.
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It was such an honour to have the Victoria Hospice Society reach out to use my illustration for their 2022 Annual Report Cover, as well as creating a winter version for them to use as their Christmas card!
