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In This Issue:
BWH volunteer, Adolfine Seelig, brings new meaning to the term retirement. At 87 years of age, Seelig walks to and from BWH seven days a week to volunteer. She has kept up this tireless pace for the last 19 years, offering immeasurable hours of service to the Friends Gift Shop, Friends Library and the Bretholtz Center. Seelig has become a devoted friend to patients, families and BWH staff. Seeling has also become a symbol of strength, courage and compassion.
At BWH, Seelig’s hours are spent visiting patients to check on their recovery, playing cards and making puzzles with families, and simply listening to individuals who anxiously await word of a loved one in surgery. She gets to know patients personally, and often they stay in touch with her after they leave, frequently donating items to the Friends Library because of her kindness.
“Volunteering is not all giving, it is a lot of getting,” said Seelig, who looks forward to spending time with BWH’s community of staff, patients and families. “I know how hard life can be, so I like to help people,” she added.
Seelig was instructed by her father to never lead a selfish life. After enduring several hardships in her own life, from losing her parents in Aushwitz, to raising two children alone in Boston after her husband died of cancer, Seelig has kept true to her father’s words. She has spent 23 years volunteering, imparting her warm spirit and sharing her wisdom with others.
Recently, Seelig visited a patient daily to teach her how to knit while the woman awaited the birth of her baby. Seelig didn’t know Spanish, the young woman’s native language, nor did the woman speak English. But, Seelig knows better than most people that the true universal language is one of compassion and generosity.