Documentary about history of Bethell Hospice to premiere at Rose Theatre in Brampton

By Zachary Roman

Many people may not understand what hospice care is all about.

As photojournalist — and now filmmaker — Shannon Eckstein learned it's an incredibly moving, amazing, and important service for those with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

Eckstein first visited Bethell Hospice in 2014, when she was asked to come and photograph people at the hospice.

Since Eckstein is a photojournalist, she has experience photographing intimate subjects, and was a good fit for the job.

“The first time I came here, I was like ‘This place is amazing',” said Eckstein. “One of the main characters in the film – her name is Jackie – she was one of the first people I interviewed and talked to, and it was just so compelling to speak with her and her family.”

Since the two built a relationship, Eckstein asked if she could interview Jackie on video, and Jackie agreed as she had things she wanted to say. That was the beginning of the documentary The Bethell Hospice Story, which is now complete and will be premiering at Brampton's Rose Theatre on September 27.

Tickets for the premiere are $40 and all proceeds will be going to Bethell Hospice.

The event begins at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour and the documentary will be shown from 7 to 8 p.m., with a question and answer discussion to follow.

The Rose Theatre was chosen as the venue because of its large capacity and accessibility to all. The majority of patients at Bethell come from Brampton, so that was another reason the Rose was a natural fit. Tickets to the premiere are available at the door or online at tickets.brampton.ca.

The last interview Eckstein conducted with Jackie was on the day before she died.

Jackie was 50 and had three kids, and Eckstein was just a few years younger than her at the time. 

“To experience death, in hospice with proper palliative care is a completely different thing. It's night and day,” said Eckstein. “So, I wanted to make a movie that told the story of what hospice and palliative care really is, and I wanted you to feel what I feel what I felt.”

After meeting Jackie, Eckstein met Elizabeth Bethell, a Victorian Order Nurse and daughter of Bethell Hospice founder Lorna Bethell.

At the time Eckstein met Elizabeth, Lorna had recently passed away. Eckstein interviewed Elizabeth at Lorna's house, and said it was amazing to hear the stories of how Lorna raised the money for the hospice.

Eckstein also learned about Tony, Lorna's husband, who was a survivor of a prisoner of war camp in World War 2. Tony and other soldiers dug tunnels to escape, and did, but many were recaptured and killed.

Tony was one of the few to survive, and kept a diary of notes and drawings from his time at the camp.

Tony's story is interwoven into The Bethell Hospice story, as one of the reasons Lorna founded Bethell Hospice was to honour Tony's life and legacy.

“When (Tony) got really sick with cancer, (Lorna) cared for him with the help of nurses in their home. And he had quite a… peaceful death at home. And after he died, she knew that lots of people don't have peaceful deaths. So, she wanted to build the hospice,” said Eckstein. Elizabeth being a nurse working in palliative care also inspired Lorna, as well as her stepson dying in hospital.

“This was all the inspiration, but then they had to figure out, ‘Okay, how were we going to build it? And how are we going to raise $8 million to get it built? And then, once it's built, how are we going to find 200 volunteers to help? And then once that's done, how do we get a foundation together to make sure that it can continue on even after?'”

Those questions will be answered in The Bethell Hospice Story.

While Eckstein was creating the documentary, her mom who lived in Vancouver became very sick. When Eckstein flew home to see her, she knew it was time for hospice care for her, which she now knew lots about from her experiences at Bethell.

Eckstein arranged hospice care for her mother and set up her room just how she liked it. Family and friends visited, and Eckstein stayed with her mother every night.

“I was there when she took her last breath and it was just a very moving experience. The word ‘profound' is overused, but it is very profound to be with somebody in the last weeks of their life,” said Eckstein. “I'm so grateful for my time at Bethell because then I was able to take that knowledge and that experience and apply it to my family.”