We Do Make A Difference!

About Vernon Warren

Maybe it is his religious underpinnings first developed when going to church with his family at St. Lucy’s in the Austin neighborhood. Maybe it is his unwavering belief in adhering to the fireman’s motto in all aspects of work and home life. Maybe it is the many challenges of adulthood this fine man faced as a young boy growing up during the depression years, such as losing his father when he was just 7 years of age.

Undoubtedly, it is the combination of all of these life experiences that allows Vernon Warren, at 100 years of age to be one of the oldest living firefighters in Chicago. Vernon retired as Acting Captain of his firehouse at Peterson and Pulaski to gracefully adapt, adjust, and accept- day by day - his increasingly complex health conditions. He relishes his remaining days with an emotional, spiritual and physical quality of life that only his beloved family and his hospice team could provide.

Judy is Vernon’s devoted daughter and his primary caregiver. She, along with her supportive husband Al, realized that the most powerful demonstration of the love and admiration they hold for her father would be to secure the comprehensive services hospice provides to patients in the final stages of their lives.

“Dad stayed independent, in his own home in the Edgebrook community of Chicago, into his early 90’s,” stated Judy during a recent interview. “Because of his life long focus on building and maintaining his core muscle strength – he never wanted to be in a crisis situation where he could not rescue someone from a second story window – Dad was able to walk a few blocks to the grocery store and cut his own lawn and his older brother’s well into his eighties.”

When Judy and Al made their regular journey from their home in Long Grove to Vernon’s home in the city, they would bring ready-to-heat meals that could last him for the week. Over time, according to Judy, “There began to be a number of cues - such as the same meals in the freezer the next time we visited - that made us realize that living alone was no longer a viable option for Dad.”

Vernon then moved in with Judy and her family. Being in such a loving environment was a wonderful next step for Vernon, and it soon became “his home” as well. “My Dad came from a humble background,” according to Judy. “He had to leave high school at an early age in order to get a job to care for his mother. Later in his life, when my mom got ill, my Dad continued to hold two jobs while serving as her primary caregiver. He did all of the house work , cooking and cleaning, and attending to her every need until her untimely death at the age of 62, without questioning his fate. It was just what one had to do. Not handling what was presented to you was not an option in my father’s book - “Adapt, adjust, accept”.

For years, Judy too adapted and adjusted, gracefully managing a successful and fast-growing international communications business she started in 1999, along with raising her children, being a good wife and caring for her father. She juggled getting her dad to doctor appointments, attending her children’s school functions, then traveling to her latest client engagement, at times all in the same day. Then a series of life-altering events beset the family: Judy’s son was placed on life support, her husband had open heart surgery, and Judy faced a potential serious health condition. While the outcomes of these medical situations were positive, the family also was dealing with the declining health and eventual loss of Al’s father and mother who lived in Wisconsin.

It was at this point in time that Judy began to search for live-in caregivers to supplement the care that she and her family provide. “We have been blessed with finding caregivers who are patient and compassionate angels,” according to Judy. “One in particular was thoughtful and courageous enough to suggest that we consider getting a visiting doctor in to care for my Dad. Dr. Gutstein is a talented, kind and caring physician. He was instrumental in keeping my father in the best possible health for his age and multiple medical conditions. He was forthright in encouraging us to look into hospice as an alternative to aggressive treatments when his declining health warranted it.” Dr. Gutstein is a lead physician with MediCall Physicians, a home visit physician group operating out of Schaumburg, Il.

“The medical, emotional, and psychosocial support that hospice provides to my Dad and the rest of our family is so very helpful at this stage of his life journey,” states Judy. Family Centered Hospice is the agency honored to provide hospice services to the Warren family. Family Centered Hospice offers a team of experts in end-of-life care who, with the family, surround the patient in an environment of hope, compassion, comfort and dignity.

Judy reminisces about some of her most vivid memories of her father in his vibrant years. What she remembers most: the excitement she would have each time she went to the bus stop to meet and greet him when he came home from work; the fact that he was a wonderful family man, very religious and an inspiration to her throughout her life; and how avid a reader he was of all topics, but in particular, history.

“As his macular degeneration intensified, he was no longer able to read a book but adapted his voracious appetite for the written word by listening to books on tape,” according to Judy. When his hearing loss turned to almost complete deafness, his world was once again transformed. “Although I believe he is as comfortable as he could possibly be, and that he has an inner strength that allows him to adapt once more, it is hard to see him with this fate today,” stated Judy.

“What I do find solace in now is that MediCall and Family are there to help me and my family now and in the months to come to carry out my father’s philosophies on life and meet his final wishes in the peaceful and dignified way that he deserves.”