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Family Focus: Woman changes life after help from hospice for husband

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lisa Muse vividly remembers six years ago when she learned her husband, Tom Muse, was seriously ill.

"They told us he had stage 4 lung cancer, and we were just shocked," Muse said. "It had spread to his liver and his bones."

He died 85 days later. She said in the last week of his life, they found peace being cared for at Levine and Dickson Hospice House, in Huntersville.

"Once they got his pain under control, which was the most important thing, they started to make sure we were OK mentally and emotionally prepared," Muse said.

The experience was so moving, Muse volunteered for hospice and became a board member. Then she decided to change her whole life.

"I quit my corporate job and did a complete 180," she said. "I went in the medical field, which is something I never would have dreamed of, to help hospice patients. My goal is to be a hospice nurse."

Muse is hoping the entire community will support the agency's Soup on Sunday event.

"There's food and fun, and it's a great way for people to learn a little bit about hospice and get warm soup on a cold day," she said.

Money raised goes to help patients who need hospice care but can't afford it.

"The staff was great. They became out family. They took such good care of both of us," Muse said.

Muse knows the blessing it was for her and wants to make sure it's always available for others.

"As a society, we don't want to talk about death or dying," she said. "But it's going to happen, and they are there to walk you through that difficult journey."

Muse will graduate from the nursing program in May 2015.

Soup on Sunday will be Jan. 26. For more information, click here.