During her 2012 visit, Maresi Rehder spoke with a young patient in the hospice. He wanted to know why she was there. After she explained her visit and support from Germany, he asked her to take a photograph of him back to Germany. Later, she saw a young woman at his bedside holding his hand.
On a home care round, Maresi met an older woman whom the team brought to the hospice. When Maresi visited her there again, the woman asked whether she could return that evening. The request grew into regular visits.
These two encounters show how much a conversation, a familiar hand or the promise of another visit can mean. The newsletter does not name these patients. The image shows a service at the Care Centre, not the people described here.
Source: newsletter no. 32 (2013), pp. 2–3, recounting a 2012 visit: www.bsg.org.za/fileadmin/Files_sites/Malteserorden/bbg/privat/rundbrief-32.pdf