What sort of associations do you make when you hear the word hospice? Perhaps death? True enough, children die in every hospice. But the employees of the Children’s Hospice in Saint Petersburg try to illumine the lives of terminally ill children and help their parents care for them and overcome stress. Such so-called palliative (from the Latin pallium – veil) therapy consists of a system of measures aimed at sustaining the highest possible quality of life for each patient with an incurable and life-threatening disease. The Children’s Hospice in Saint Petersburg is unique in that is the only Russian medical institution providing a full range of palliative care, including medical, psychological, social and spiritual support. Since 2006, 40 employees have served 200 families in total.

Here, the word “care” is replaced by the word “love”, and everyone involved in the therapy brings the children’s life, happiness and comfort into focus. When one of the hospice patients dies, a large candle is lit and the parents, together with the hospice staff, can say goodbye to the child in a special “sad” room. In 2015, the candle was lit 18 times…