TULSA, Okla. — A heartfelt letter written by a dying 27-year-old man to his hospice caregivers has earned Grace Hospice the prestigious Willow Award, recognizing exceptional compassion in end-of-life care.
Dawson Sorrels, who lived with a rare bone marrow disorder and autism, collaborated with his mother Tami to write the letter during his final days, thanking the Grace Hospice team for seeing him as more than just a patient.
'You saw me as a person'
"If you ever wonder what you do matters, it does and you did," Dawson wrote in his letter.
"Thank you for seeing me, not just as a diagnosis, a chart or something to fix, but as a person," he wrote. "You saw me through the invisible parts of what I was dealing with, even when they didn't show up clearly on paper."
Jodie McGinely, Executive Director of the Willow Award, said she was moved to tears by Dawson's message.
"I have never read anything so beautiful and we've never received a letter in hand that was actually written by the person who has passed away," said McGinely. "It was just a whole beautiful level of appreciation from the grave."
A mother's impossible decision
Tami Sorrels served as Dawson's primary caregiver throughout his life, navigating countless doctor appointments and hospital stays. But after years of complex medical care, her son came to her with a difficult request.
"Dawson had advocated that he felt like his journey through the medical treatments needed to come to an end," Tami said. "With his team’s permission and support, that decision was made and we didn’t see it as giving up or a failure, we just saw it as the next part of Dawson’s story.”
After a year of conversations about end-of-life care, Tami found Grace Hospice, recognizing that both she and Dawson needed additional support.
"Dawson and I were the best team," she said. "We knew how to do this, we knew what he needed, we knew how to get it done, but we both understood that we were beyond our scope. We needed the resources that hospice provides."
Personal care in familiar surroundings
Since he was born, Tami said she's been sharing her son with medical professionals, so having doctors and nurses around wasn't out of the ordinary. Though at home care was a different level, giving Dawson connection and community.
"It's very different when it's in your home, in his space," said Tami. "It makes it very special. He just could be seen. They knew his likes by what he had hanging on the wall, they might be able to tell his favorite color."
Among the staff who received the award was Dawson's nurse Grace, who continues to support Tami even after her son's passing.
“Hospice is a 24/7 job, they are always there," said Tami. "This team exemplified that. They took Dawson’s complexity and just made it work. They never told me they had never done this before, which I knew they hadn’t. They never said that they couldn’t, that they didn’t have the resources, that they didn’t know what this diagnosis was going to look like at end of life. So that was freeing, as his primary caregiver to know that I had people behind me that even if they just confidently faked it, that there was someone there.”
A lasting legacy
True to his character, Dawson spent his final moments thinking of others whose dedication might go unnoticed.
"It's an honor to be a part of recognition for someone who deserves to be seen, and it's also a beautiful way for Dawson's legacy to start," Tami said.
The Willow Award celebrates healthcare workers who provide exceptional compassionate care, recognizing the profound impact hospice teams have on patients and families during life's most challenging moments. They are open to nominations here.
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