“Meeting with some of these amazing people and hearing about their life stories and watching them smile through anything reminds me to treat everyone with the same level of love and care. It puts into perspective the priority of living every day to the fullest.”
Paradigm Health volunteer Laasya Mamidipalli is studying Biology at Indiana University and has set her sights on a pre-med track. In past summers, she’s volunteered her time toward research at laboratories in the Indianapolis area. While those experiences taught her a lot about the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes of new research and discovery, she was in search of a hands-on volunteer experience that focused on the patient side of medicine.
“The volunteer work I had done before at laboratories was important,” shares Mamidipalli. “That research will hopefully enable us to create new treatments that in the end are able to improve the quality of life for patients. That is what drew me to Paradigm Health. Their mission to enrich the lives of their patients every day – especially during hospice care – brings things full circle.”
A quick online search brought up some other hospice organizations for Mamidipalli to consider. She says the environment and culture at Paradigm Health really spoke to her and it was easy to join in, train, and quickly be able to help and interact with patients.
“Hospice care really stood out to me because of the level of interaction it provides with patients,” says Mamidipalli. “I really wanted to be able to learn more about myself too to see how much I enjoyed patient interaction. Through this experience I realized I love it even more than I previously thought. Meeting with some of these amazing people and hearing about their life stories and watching them smile through anything reminds me to treat everyone with the same level of love and care. It puts into perspective the priority of living every day to the fullest.”
For many during the past year or more, face-to-face visitation has been difficult especially for volunteers. Fully vaccinated, Mamidipalli sayd she has been able to meet with patients and offer emotional support and a listening ear. She shares she is often able to see patients on a weekly basis to see how they are doing and remembers to make sure they know they are loved and each one uniquely important.
“I think for sure my favorite part of being a Paradigm Health hospice volunteer is being able to listen to the stories patients share about their lives,” Mamidipalli says. “Most of them have lived long years and love to share what they learned through different experiences. Listening to their stories and picking up small life lessons is an awesome opportunity for me and reminds me to spend time with my own family and cherish family and friends even through small day-to-day activities.”
Mamidipalli recommends anyone considering becoming a hospice volunteer to try it. It was a fantastic experience for her and opened her eyes to how much she loved the healthcare field and allowed her to grow professionally, personally, and emotionally.
