Hospice Patient Marries High School Sweetheart

GEORGETOWN, Ky., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  Liana Craven did not know what the days and weeks ahead would hold for her as her cancer progressed, but she knew one thing for sure.  She did not want to spend that time in the hospital.

Bluegrass Care Navigators made it possible to be where she wanted to be.

"I did not want to be stuck in the hospital with a limit on how many friends and family could visit me," said Liana.  "Without them, I don't think I would be able to stay home like I have."

With her hospice team, she started to tackle her bucket list.  At the top of the list?  Finally getting to marry her high school sweetheart of 21 years, Richard.

"He had already known before I was diagnosed that I wanted to be married.  And he made it happen," she said.

Liana's family surprised her with a wedding ceremony on March 30.  A best friend purchased a new dress for Liana while others arranged makeup and hairstyling, food and music at the family's Kentucky home.

"It was special.  It was precious.  It was meaningful," said Liana's stepfather, Dennis Dio Parker. "I have no doubt in terms of a bucket list this becomes her crown-topping moment."

As a newlywed, Liana has been able to check other bucket list items off her list.  She has taken a joy ride with her dad in his sports car.  And she has enjoyed a massage at home thanks to Bluegrass Care Navigator's Integrative Medicine program, which provides therapies to patients and families that complement their medical care.

Most importantly, Liana has enjoyed time with friends and family, especially her new husband and twin sister Melissa.

"I just thought that going home with hospice meant you'd be gone in a few days.  I got married March 30 and I just feel like, I can do this," said Liana.  "Hospice is not just the end of the line.  Sometimes it's making things you've been waiting 21 years for happen faster."

Hospice care is a choice for patients who are no longer seeking curative treatment for an illness, and instead seek to focus on quality of life and managing symptoms.  Patients receive care wherever they call home from an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, certified nursing assistants, social workers and chaplains.  The hospice team helps the patient with pain and other discomforting symptoms, daily activities, emotional and spiritual support, medication and equipment management, and support for caregivers.

Hospice care is typically covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance.  As a nonprofit hospice organization, no family is turned away from Bluegrass Care Navigators based on their ability to pay for services.

About Bluegrass Care Navigators

Serving Kentuckians for more than 40 years, Bluegrass Care Navigators provides hospice care in 32 counties across central, eastern and northern Kentucky.  In addition, the agency supports those facing serious illness or chronic disease with private duty nursing, home primary care, transitional care, adult day health care, adult and pediatric palliative care services and through specialized programs such as integrative medicine, dementia care and telemedicine.

For more information, visit www.bgcarenav.org.

SOURCE Bluegrass Care Navigators