Letters for June 23, 2015

Letters for June 23, 2015

Hospice can be great help to families

Kauai Hospice can serve as a valuable resource for children and families wanting to care for seriously ill or disabled loved one at home. If suffering from severe heart or lung disease, metastatic cancer, or even advanced dementia, they may be hospice eligible. Our palliative social work professionals are aware of other community resources such as Share the Care, VA, and Medicaid that can be of assistance. This is all aimed at assisting the family, not taking over care from the family.

In some cases social, economic, or medical factors may still require the use of a care home or long term care facility. Hospice can provide the hospice benefit to these patients and families just at we do with hospice patients in their private homes.

For information on our programs, filling out advanced directives, POLST, or monthly “Talk with the Doc” sessions, call 245-7277.

Robert S. Weiner M.D.

Medical Director, Kauai Hospice

John Plews was a Kauai treasure

Thank you for your June 21 obituary of John Harry Rice Plews, who had an 81-year relationship with Kauai.

He staunchly supported the botanical gardens at Limahuli, Allerton, and McBryde. And he served on the board of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, which included the three locations on Kauai, and one each on Maui and in Florida. I once toured the Florida garden by boat with John, and several times visited Allerton and McBryde with him.

He was proud that a plant was named for him “because it has rough bark.”

He loved his family’s place at Kokee and tried to visit once a month — a goal he achieved many years runing.

I’ll miss John. He and his sister Anne (who died a year ago) are two of the reasons my wife and I decided to retire to Kauai.

Bob Ray

Poipu

King’s parable explains Kauai’s traffic problem

Once in a land far away there was a wealthy king. He owned vast lands and ruled them with an iron fist. His advisers always agreed with him so they could keep their positions and share in his wealth. Aside from money, there was nothing the king loved more than his prized horse, Hercules. Each year, he would enter Hercules in the great horse race that all the other kingdoms participated in. Unfortunately, each year Hercules lost. The king would hire consultants, trainers, horse experts — anyone to help make Hercules faster. Millions were spent, but year after year, the king’s beloved horse lost badly.

One day a blind man wandered into town. The king’s men heard this blind man was an oracle bestowed with great powers, so they captured him and took him to the king. Immediately the king asked the blind man to if he could help him make Hercules fast enough to win the race. So they led the blind man to the horse, where he said “Please give me a minute with the beast”. As they watched in amazement, the blind man began running his hands all over the horse, carefully feeling and touching the animal. Finally after a few minutes, he stepped back to the king and said “I’ve got it figured out.” The king, besides himself with joy asked, “Is it the alignment of the moon? Is it a curse? Is it the work of devils?” The blind man dusted off his hands and said, “Um no king, the problem is your horse only has three legs”.

This is a story that explains exactly why our traffic situation on the East Side is so bad. We only have a three-lane road, rather than a normal four-lane road like everywhere else on earth. Until we get a four-lane road, we’ll always be racing our three-legged horse trying to win the race.

John Patterson

Wailua