Page 14 - Year in Review 2019-2020 - Mercy Foundation North

“I encourage other donors to experience the same level of personal fulfillment I have, by partnering with Mercy Foundation North.”
–Mike G. Davis, board member
Happy Birthday, Paul!
Home for the Holidays
Traditionally at this time of the year, we would be sharing details about Festival of Trees, the annual gala that benefits all three of our North State Hospices. There would be talk of the joyous party, the 400-plus guests dressed in their holiday finery, the sumptuous food, the elegant décor, and the fun music.
Sadly, those visions have been put on hold this year. With so much yet to be learned about the spread of COVID-19 and ongoing concerns over large gatherings, we made the difficult decision to transform Festival of Trees into a multitude of mini experiences to be enjoyed by all throughout the month of November.
Fittingly, November is Home Health and Hospice month, and we welcome your continued support to help ensure patients and loved ones can be Home for the Holidays. Be sure to visit: www.supportmercynorth.com for all the details. 
Pinkie’s planned gift benefits St. Elizabeth Hospice
“I first met her when she was well into her 90s, and then only knew her as Pinkie,” noted Mercy Foundation North board member Jessie Shields-Cornelsen. Wilda Mae “Pinkie” Pyeatt had lived in a modest home on the river in Red Bluff with her second husband. Shields remembers Wilda as a trim and petite woman who was “full of humor.” She loved golfing, making her friends laugh, joining them for a Thursday night “sip” and dinner at the Green Barn, and most importantly, she loved St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. So much so, that she included St. Elizabeth Hospice in her estate plans. Thank you, Pinkie. 
St. Elizabeth Crew Brings on the Birthday Cheer
Paul had a date with a piece of birthday cheesecake – custom-ordered maple cheese- cake with peach cobbler on top, to be exact. Paul had planned to celebrate his 70th birthday with his family, but his body had something else in mind as an episode of dehydration took over.
The retired teacher from the Cottonwood area was quickly admitted to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital the day before his birthday. As doctors worked to find the cause of his elevated blood pressure, it meant he had to stay overnight. Staff soon recognized that Paul was going to be celebrating a birthday milestone the next day in a hospital, alone. They weren’t about to let him miss out.
For dinner that night, they added a piece of cheesecake to his meal order to start the celebration.
In the morning, Paul cleared his final test so he would be able to go home on his birthday. The doctor and nurses delivered him breakfast and sang a robust and slightly out-of tune version of “Happy Birthday” to send him on his way. “I was really touched. Everybody was great, just great people everywhere.” It was not the birthday Paul Krapfel was planning on, but it’s the one he’ll always remember because of the abundance of humankindness bestowed upon him by St. Elizabeth hospital staff. 
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