Annual Tree of Lights Ceremony Offers Comfort, Hope During Holidays
Carol Stream Press
by Erin Sauder
December 3, 2010
For some, the holidays bring sentiments of joy and celebration.
But for others, the season can be a reminder of their loss.
The upcoming Tree of Lights ceremony, sponsored by CNS Home Health and Hospice in Carol Stream, is both a remembrance service and fundraiser for programs that help people in need in the community.
For a contribution, a hand-inscribed ornament will adorn a tree displayed during the ceremony.
Ornaments include a dove, soldier, star and heart and can be purchased in memory of military personnel, loved ones or cherished pets.
The trees will be lit during the ceremony in celebration of those whose names are displayed. Ornaments also will be available.
“You belong to this special club you never wanted to be a part of” after losing a loved one, said Carol Stream resident Karen Mills, who lost her mother to pancreatic cancer three years ago.
“But the ceremony helps you realize you’re not alone. There are people out there going through the same thing as you.”
This year, Mills has purchased three ornaments for the ceremony: one for her mother, one for her late mother-in-law and one in honor of her son, Ryan, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force who will be returning this month from Afghanistan.
Mills said when her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, “We knew it was a death sentence.”
But the family didn’t realize how little time they had.
“She was diagnosed in May and passed away in July. It was shocking and a hard year for all of us,” Mills said. “There’s nothing to rock your world more than illness.”
While battling the cancer, Mills’ mother was taken care of by CNS Home Health and Hospice. “The hospice was a wonderful gift for all of us,” Mills said.
The pet memorial component of the ceremony was added last year at the suggestion of longtime event coordinator Lisa Brown-Van Arsdale, also director of program and fund development for CNS Home Health and Hospice, who died earlier this year.
“She and her husband didn’t have children but they had dogs — so they were like her children,” said Central DuPage Hospital spokeswoman Amy Jo Steinbruecker. “And Lisa thought, ‘What better way to support the (CNS Home Health and Hospice) Pet Therapy Program than to add this?’”
The program, called Paws with a Purpose, was developed to provide pet companionship visits to hospice patients.
Steinbruecker, a Bloomingdale resident, was one attendee who took advantage of the pet memorial at last year’s ceremony after the death of her cat, Cleo.
“At Christmastime I thought, ‘I miss my kitty,’” Steinbruecker said. “It was a great place for me to memorialize her. And the pet component went over very well because there were a lot of people that felt the same way. Where else do you go to memorialize a pet? It was perfect for me.”
Anyone who would like to honor a loved one who has died, is battling a life-threatening illness or wishes to honor a special person in their life is welcome to attend.
Mills encourages others dealing with a loss this holiday season to attend.
“I think sometimes you forget in the chaos of life or the season what’s truly important,” she said.