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FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) — When James "Roy" Thompson gives a client a haircut he's looking to do more than remove split ends or lower their ears. He's hoping to lend an ear to those who need it most.
That's because the retired barber and military veteran volunteers his time and services at McLeod Hospice where he knows that companionship means just as much as a clean cut.
"Sometimes they don't even want a haircut; they just want you to talk. I have some that just want to say a prayer and you have to know all these things," Thompson, 69, said. "You have to know when to give and when not to give. That's the key."
Nearly four years ago when Thompson, who everyone around Hospice House knows as "Mr. Roy," retired from the barbering business, he started filling his days with various volunteering activities, which eventually lead him to the two-day Hospice training. He enjoyed the learning process and grief training that all 175 of McLeod Hospice's volunteers went through, and realized that many of the patients are not able to get out to a salon, so the perfect solution was for him to go to them.
With 45 years of barbering experience — 22 of which he was a service member, first in the Navy and then the National Guard — Thompson has seen everything, making him perfectly equipped to help a variety of terminal patients, all of whom have a life expectancy of six of fewer months.
"It doesn't matter to me how a person look or how a person is, I look at the person as a person," Thompson said.
Depending on how many calls the McLeod Hospice team gets, Thompson spends at least a few hours a week driving to patients' homes or visiting them at Hospice House on Cheves Street. Every stop he makes, he checks with the family or nursing team to see if the client is up for it, and then he brings out his silver toolkit, packed with sheers, clippers, combs, lotions, colognes and disinfectant, all furnished through donations to the McLeod Foundation.
He said it takes tenderness with hospice clients, and that it's important for him to be in-tune with their needs. If they begin to squirm too much or grunt in discomfort, sometimes he has to "turn 'em loose" and come back to trim the other half of their head another day.
"Sometimes when I go to cut a client's hair, they don't keep their head still a lot, and you've got to have patience with each person," he said.
But when his clients have good days, there's nothing like it.
"When they get a haircut and you brush 'em up and clean 'em up, they have a smile on they face. They feel so great," Thompson said. "They feel like they just got out the barber chair and they smile when they see me coming and I love patients that will talk. You'd be amazed that some patients I go to they don't get to talk. They be waiting for me to come and they tell me things and we enjoy each other."
Last week Thompson treated Ernest Richardson to the barber shop treatment during a long-awaited appointment that was pushed back thanks to the winter storm. Richardson, 89, said he didn't like his hair getting too long. After his hair and eyebrows were all evened up, all Richardson could say was, "You did a great job," with a half grin.
His wife, Molly Richardson, said though her husband had excellent care during the past six weeks he'd been at Hospice House, she could tell getting a haircut made him look and feel "like a new man."
"To him it's a relief to get a haircut and a shave. It makes him feel cleaner and decent because you know they lay in bed all the time, so they need to kind of get pruned up and keep themselves clean and neat, regardless of whether they're walking around or in the bed. ... It makes him feel terrific," she said.
But what started as just barbering grew into a larger commitment for Thompson to help patients. Now he also runs errands when families need him to, takes time to just visit or talk about war medals and even takes some of the men who are well enough to go fishing.
"The ones that's able, I have places I can take them where they can just sit and enjoy fishing," he said. "They don't really want to catch anything, they just want to be there. And it's just amazing to see the smile on their face when they get to see that water. Maybe the family member can't get them there, but I have the time to take them there."
Jennifer Hunter, one of the volunteer coordinators for McLeod Hospice, said that type of male companionship is very important for a lot of the patients.
"It's great because we have a lot of female volunteers but we have not that many male volunteers and because of our male population, they're taken care of by their wives and their daughters and sisters and stuff, but it's nice to have a man to talk with about manly things," Hunter said. "To just have a buddy."
Since McLeod Hospice is a nonprofit and has many charity patients, the organization aims to take care of their physical needs, but it takes the volunteers to help meet the emotional needs.
"I just really enjoy it," Thompson said with a laugh.
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Information from: Morning News, http://www.scnow.com
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