May 24, 2016
Ruth Hill: A Beautiful Thread in the Patchwork of Mountain Shadows Life for 21 Years
By: Sheryl Wilde
“While most people would think of my work with the intellectually disabled individuals at Mountain Shadows as a job, I think of it as my calling – my God given purpose for my life,” says Ruth Hill RN.
Her deep sense of purpose was sparked, in large part, from seeing how her developmentally disabled aunt was treated when she was growing up.
“My aunt was born at a time when the disabled were put into state institutions. I visited her there many times. She was non-verbal and deaf. She lived with three other women in a dorm-type setting. They all had the same steel locker. They all wore the same dresses. They all wore the same shoes. It was very sad. There was no individuality.
“When my aunt was 40-years old, she was moved into another home where she was encouraged to develop tastes and interests of her own. She was still non-verbal, but could make known what she wanted – especially if she wanted to go shopping!
“My aunt died this last spring. She was 85-years-old. Even though she was 40-years-old before she moved out of the state institution, during the second half of her life, she was able to grow and live a fuller life. And she was able to pick her own shoes.”
Ruth joined the Mountain Shadows family in 1994. “I have truly enjoyed working here for the past 21 years. I can say that it has been a challenging, stimulating, satisfying period in my life. My passion has always been to make sure all of the children and staff feel loved and cared for.”
“Ruth’s focus has always been on the residents,” says Stacy Sullivan, Director of Operations. “Her love was to support them. She loved what she was doing and it showed in everything she did. She made the residents’ lives better.
“She was also a teacher and mentor to many of the staff members. She was extremely patient. When things got crazy, she remained calm.”
“I always enjoyed teaching,” adds Ruth. “I set-up the Developmentally Disabled Attendants (DDA) program and also the In-Service program at Mountain Shadows. That was very fulfilling. I always challenged the staff to learn more, to improve, to do everything better.”
While teaching and mentoring were rewarding, Ruth’s most cherished memories at Mountain Shadows stem from the residents. “The residents roused very strong emotions in me. No matter how bad of a day I had, one of the residents would always do something that would make me say, ‘That’s why I’m at work today.'”
“Ruth always fought for the residents,” says Stacy. “She was their advocate. When an emergency placement was needed, when a child was in danger, she would go out – even in the middle of the night – to get that child into a safe environment. She wanted to do what was right for the child.”
Doing what was right sometimes was not easy. “I remember one young boy, Deandre,” says Ruth. “He had no family at all in his life. When he came to Mountain Shadows he was very skinny and had not been fed well. He was non-verbal, but was very expressive with his face. I learned to read his expressions well and we became very close.
“Over a short time, his condition deteriorated, but not his spirit. He had bad scoliosis, which compromised his breathing. His lungs compressed. Then he developed pneumonia. He was admitted to the hospital and they needed to intubate him to keep him alive.
“When I went to see him in the hospital, his face said, ‘Get me out of here!’ I looked in his eyes and his look said, ‘This is not what I want.’ I’ll never forget that look.
“I spoke with his doctors and there were no other treatment options available to help Deandre. Since he had no family, I knew I needed to act as his advocate. I knew he didn’t want to spend the rest of his days in the hospital bed hooked up to a ventilator. I represented him during ethics meetings and it was agreed by all of the doctors that the best thing would be to take him off the ventilator. He died quietly shortly thereafter. It was very sad and so hard to do. But I felt like I had been a voice for him.”
While there were difficult times over the years, there were more moments of joy. One such moment came when Danny moved to Mountain Shadows.
“When I first met Danny, he was five-years-old and weighed over 125 pounds. He had spina bifida. He couldn’t even spell his name. It was obvious he had been neglected. We worked with him to help him lose weight, improve his mobility, and much more.
“Danny caught on to things so quickly when given the attention he deserved. We took him to Mountain Shadows picnics and he participated in all the games. He had a ball! It was so fun to see his face light up. And, just three years after he came to Mountain Shadows, he was a much happier, healthier boy who not only could spell his name, but was performing at grade level! He was adopted by a loving family and has a permanent home. He’s now a normal, obnoxious teenager!”
“Ruth did everything that was asked of her – and more,” adds Stacy. “She did everything with a smile. And she made everyone else smile. She always made things fun. She made people laugh. She was Ruth. And she brought joy to our organization and to our residents.
“Ruth retired from Mountain Shadows at the end of 2015. There will be a void without her. She simply cannot be replaced.”
To commemorate her career at Mountain Shadows, a new home in Riverside has been named in Ruth’s honor: Hill House.
“In all the years Mountain Shadows has been in existence, we’ve never named a house after any other employee,” adds Stacy. “That’s how much Ruth means to us. For the rest of time, we will call this special house for our residents, Hill House.”
“As I move into this new season in my life, I do not anticipate losing passion to care about our Mountain Shadows family,” says Ruth. “I will find ways to continue to support them.”
In addition to traveling the world during her retirement, Ruth intends to delve more deeply into another of her life passions – quilting.
It has been said of quilters that they are storytellers. With only thread and fabric to do their storytelling, they weave together patterns and colors, precious bits and pieces of joy and sorrow, memories and dreams.
It could be said the story of Ruth Hill would weave a tale worthy of being told in such a manner. Ruth’s is a story of dedication and service to Mountain Shadows. A story laced with laughter and tears, sewn together with heart, and hand, and love.
Stitch by stitch, year by year, Ruth has helped to bind together our Mountain Shadows family into a rich and vibrant tapestry of life.
With deep gratitude, we thank you, Ruth, for your friendship, leadership, and service, for the past 21 years.
