On Christmas Eve, Tom Korn was frail and unconscious when he arrived at the hospice unit of Northgate Care Facility after his doctors told him that nothing more could be done. His husband, Mark, was reeling—another unfamiliar corridor, another devastating prognosis, and what seemed to be Tom’s final stop. Instead, Northgate’s partnership with Niagara Hospice became more than just an admission for comfort; it turned into an unexpected chance to live. After the Northgate team met with Tom and Mark, Mark bumped into Carla, who offered the sense of calmness he needed. Mark remembers, “Her natural intuition took me by the hand and guided me through that first horrible day.”

For the next 180 days, Carla and the entire team—nurses, CNAs, therapists, housekeepers, dietary aides, and maintenance workers—supported Tom and Mark as their vital care network. On day 25, Tom asked for two cups of ice to chill his Ensure drink. Over the following 150 days, a member of the dietary team delivered roughly 900 cups of ice to meet Tom’s complex nutritional needs. “I was amazed by Northgate’s attention to the smallest details,” said Mark.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, something remarkable began to happen. Tom started responding to his carefully coordinated medications. Instead of simply following a routine, his caretakers listened, adjusted, and patiently and empathetically answered Mark’s questions, whose fears as a loving husband, caught between grief and longing, became overwhelming. After 90 days, when Mark asked if there was any hope, the team’s answer was a clear yes. “A door opened, and hope entered,” said Mark. Amazingly, Tom didn’t just stabilize; he improved, laughed, connected, and healed. Throughout it all, the clinical and staff care was exceptional—from labeling and laundering Tom’s clothes to replacing a broken phone cord and searching for the perfect mattress to keep Tom comfortable; every detail was handled. “These acts of compassion, both large and small, contributed to a miraculous experience,” said Mark.

After five months, Tom, who is 64, accompanied his husband Mark home to their beloved community in Youngstown, New York. The couple has been together since 1980, and Mark says, “We will spend the rest of our time reflecting on the good fortune that brought us to Northgate, where Tom and I received compassionate and exceptionally skilled care. We will also reflect on the countless prayers that helped this miracle become a reality.”

Tom’s story goes beyond mere survival. It emphasizes the importance of being seen, heard, and cared for during a patient’s and loved one’s darkest moments. Northgate Health Care Facility and Niagara Hospice didn’t just help a patient recover; they restored this loving couple’s lives and served as a powerful reminder that where love and compassionate care are present, there is hope.

Northgate Health Care Facility offers 24-hour skilled nursing, post-acute rehabilitation, memory care, and in-house dialysis. The hospice care, co-managed by Northgate and Niagara Hospice, was the first of its kind in New York State. Visit www.livinglegendshealth.com or call 716-694-7700 to learn more.