CLOSE-UP

•

More and more terminally ill opt out of hospitals
in favor of familiar surroundings, home cooking
and the love of their families.

PHIL JACOBS

Managing Editor

I II

0

that three hours dreaming
that her sick brother is
calling her name.
Sometimes, he really is.
Gina also dreams that
she'll 'find Pete dead
when she goes to him.
Sometimes, she really
wishes it for the both of
them. Hospice understands
this.
What Gina now under-

stands better is that she
doesn't have to be alone as
her brother dies. Indeed
Gina, the former owner of a
flower shop, has given up
her business and much of
her life to care for Pete.
Both she and her small
house seem worn, like
they've gone through too
much together. The house
could use a can of paint.

Photos by Gle nn Triest

en

ne wouldn't think
a small, wood-
grained paneled
bedroom with
bright pictures of orange
and yellow fish, blue flowers
and a commode in the cor-
ner would be the best place
to spend the rest of a life..
But to Pete Glassgold, 36,
it beats what any hospital
could offer.
Besides, the room is in
the back of the Ferndle
home of his sister, Gina.
And there's even a picture
of his girlfriend, a Central
American woman with a
pretty smile, looking down
on him.
This is where Mr.
Glassgold, who has in-
operable brain cancer, has
chosen to end his life. It's
also where the Hospice of
Southeastern Michigan is
helping him live his life to
its end.
Pete Glassgold is one of
210 patients the Hospice
will care for on this steamy
July day, a day when a re-
cent storm has burned out
the power in his sister's
home. Luckily for Mr.
Glassgold, his electric
hospital bed was in the
open position when the
power blew. Thank God for
small favors.
Gina Glassgold is send-
ing many thank-yous to
God these days. She's
grateful for the three hours
of sleep she now gets in the
morning while a. Hospice
home-care worker bathes
and feeds Pete.
Sometimes, she spends