An Out-of-this-World Last Wish: How One Hospice Patient Is Working to Redefine What's Possible
When Pam Harter became eligible and began receiving hospice services in April 2025, she didn't think about saying goodbye. She had seen firsthand how hospice care can help patients live well for the time they have left. Instead, she thought about how she could keep living.
Now, as Pam continues to receive hospice care from Providence at Home with Compassus Hospice Care, Napa, she spends time with her three children and grandchildren and is preparing for something no hospice patient has ever done before: she wants to go to space.
"People hear 'hospice' and they think you have days left," Pam shares. "But I'm still here. I'm still planning. I'm still dreaming. And if I can accomplish one of my life’s goals while helping to spread the truth about hospice care, well, nothing would make me prouder."
Misconceptions That Reduce Access to Care
Pam's story illuminates one of healthcare's most persistent and harmful misconceptions: that hospice care is only for the final days of life, reserved for when there's no hope or quality of life left.
The truth is that hospice doesn't have to mean giving up hope, and it’s certainly not just for the final days of life. Hospice eligibility begins when a physician certifies that a patient has a life-limiting illness with a prognosis of six months or less if the disease follows its expected course. Patients can live beyond that initial prognosis and be recertified to continue to receive hospice care so long as they continue to have a prognosis of six months or less. Often, when patients start hospice care their condition is well managed, and they end up living longer on hospice care than was anticipated before that intervention.
"Hospice isn't about giving up," Pam explains. "It's about choosing what matters most with the time you have."
A Lifetime of Looking Up
Growing up in Arcola, Illinois – a town of just 2,000 people – Pam spent her childhood staring at stars and from then on, she was fascinated by space. Even into adulthood, she’s loved to learn about the Apollo missions and has attended any astronaut book signing she could find. She’s even visited Huntsville's Space Camp and Cape Canaveral, but she never imagined she'd have a chance to join them.
Then came her diagnosis of PXE—pseudoxanthoma elasticum—an exceptionally rare genetic disorder causing her arteries to calcify and become brittle. Her heart and vascular system were slowly failing. With her husband, Todd, and children and grandchildren by her side, Pam faced an impossible reality. She knew her time was limited; would she be able to make her dream a reality?
Having spent over a decade volunteering with her local hospice organization, serving as lot manager for the Providence Community Health Foundation Napa Valley’s annual gala fundraiser, Pam had seen firsthand what hospice really meant. Holistic support for her and her family. A care plan that meets her unique needs. And not a charge to give up, but rather, the ability to let go of treatments that weren't working in favor of living well with the time left.
The Conversation That Sparked the Dream
In November 2025, Pam joined a Space2Sea expedition to the Galápagos Islands, a bucket list trip that fed her love of exploration. Over dinner one evening, surrounded by fellow travelers and expedition staff, she mentioned her dream: "Wouldn't it be something if a hospice patient could go to space?"
The woman sitting next to her spoke up. "I know Blue Origin," she said. "I know exactly who to connect you with."
As word spread among her fellow travelers aboard the expedition, the excitement became contagious. Kathy Sullivan – astronaut, oceanographer, and the first American woman to walk in space – heard about Pam's dream.
"If this happens," Sullivan told her, "I want to be at your launch."
Pam's recounts the moment: "If I could do this and bring a positive spin to the word 'hospice,' that would be so amazing. It's not just about death. It's about comfort that allows you to keep living."
What Hospice Really Means
Pam's determination challenges everything most people believe about hospice care. The six-month eligibility guideline isn't a deadline; it's a medical estimate based on the typical disease trajectory.
Hospice care provides:
- Pain and symptom management that allows patients to remain comfortable
- Medical support that adapts to changing needs
- Emotional and spiritual counseling for patients and families
- Respite care for caregivers
- Grief support and counseling for patients and families
Patients can receive hospice at home, in facilities, or even while traveling—with proper coordination and medical support. They can pursue their passions, celebrate milestones, and chase dreams that matter to them.
A Lasting Legacy
Can a hospice patient actually go to space? The medical and logistical challenges are substantial. Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft is designed for accessibility, with a pressurized capsule and eleven-minute launch experience that's gentler on the body than orbital spaceflight. The company has already flown civilians ranging from 18-year-olds to 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk and 90-year old William Shatner.
What matters to Pam beyond her own personal dream is showing other hospice patients and their loved ones that enrolling in hospice care doesn't mean abandoning hope. It means redefining it.
Whether or not Pam makes it to space, her mission has already launched. She's speaking openly about hospice care, breaking down the stigma that keeps too many patients suffering through misaligned treatments when they could be living comfortably at home. She's proving that hospice patients can still be adventurers, dreamers, and pioneers.
From a small town in Illinois to the edge of space, if Pam's journey teaches us anything, it's that hospice care isn't where dreams go to die. Sometimes, it's where they finally have room to take flight.
Pam continues to work with her interdisciplinary hospice care team and space industry contacts to make her dream a reality.
To learn more about hospice care eligibility and services, talk to your healthcare provider or contact your local hospice organization.
Written by Elyssa Katz
National Alliance for Care at Home
ekatz@allianceforcareathome.org | 571-281-0220
Local Foundation Contact:
Erika Tavakoli
Providence Community Health Foundation Napa Valley
Director of Development Operations
erika.tavakoli@providence.org / 707-225-4995
Local Hospice Organization:
Providence at Home with Compassus
414 S. Jefferson Street, Napa, CA 94559
707-531-6190
Media relations: Kathy Winn
kathleen.winn@compassus.com
phone: (615) 432-5203 / mobile: (615) 478-5941