A nurse who has worked in Fergus for nine years has won a Human Touch award from Cancer Care Ontario.
Shelley Lillie was nominated for her outstanding work with a patient who was terminally ill with cancer, and who died in November.
Peter Turner fought the illness for over 2.5 years, and Lillie was with him all the way. She was nominated for the award by Turner’s widow, Carol for her exemplary care during that time.
“Shelley was wonderful,” Carol Turner said in an interview on Monday. “She looked after Peter from the time he came home from Guelph General after two serious operations.”
Turner said Lillie was the lead nurse for her husband, but she gave him more than just terrific medical care. “She picked up on his character,” she said. “They got along immediately.
Lillie not only offered Peter Turner care, but, within the limits of his illness, she encouraged him to keep active. Carol Turner said they lived on a farm and her husband was very active, enjoying felling trees and making firewood, and Lillie enabled him to carry on outdoors.
“She basically let him live his life like he wanted to,” she remembered. “Shelley encouraged him to do what he wanted to do – within his limits.”
Cancer Care Ontario created its Human Touch Award in 2007 to recognize and honor health care professionals in the cancer system who demonstrate exceptional and compassionate patient care.
Rossalyn Bentley, of the Family Health Team, said, “Shelley Lillie is a very worthy recipient of this award.”
Lillie is a nurse specialist for supportive and palliative care with the team, which brings together family doctors from Fergus, Elora, and Arthur with other health providers in order to coordinate the best possible care for patients at a local level. She has been a nurse for 24 years.
Formerly a community nurse with Bayshore Home Health, based in Fergus, Lillie was presented the award for her demonstrable commitment and outstanding care.
Carol Turner said when Peter first came home Lillie taught her the procedures she could do in the home. And when Peter was taken seriously ill and went into hospital, Lillie continued to visit him there until he passed away at Groves Hospital.
Lillie said that when she treats patients, particularly in the long term, she becomes totally involved with them. “I just kind of tend to do that,” she said.
She added that she definitely felt close to Peter Turner because she worked with him so long.
“I was definitely closer to him than somebody you known only a few weeks or a month,” she said.
Part of the rules for nominating someone for the Human Touch award is the nominator must contact the person being nominated. When Carol Turner did that, Lillie said, “I told her I would be honoured.”
When she received the award a few weeks ago, she noted that there were six individual awards, and also two groups.
“It’s an honour,” she said of receiving the award. “There are a lot of people out there who do what I do, but they just haven’t had a [nomination] letter written for them. We’re making great strides in palliative care.”
The award was presented on April 24 at the Metropolitan Hotel in Toronto at the annual general meeting of Cancer Care Ontario.
To learn more about the award go to the Cancer Care Ontario web site at http://www.cancercare.on.ca/documents/Human_Touch_CallforNominations.pdf.
