Walter Loeb was 66 when he decided to follow up on the “massage hobby” he’d been enjoying since he was 50.  He was the “oldest” student in his class back in January 1999, and he is still practicing massage at age 78.  He works in a spa, in private practice, and with hospice patients.  It is this last population that he finds to be the most rewarding of his career, and the one he is most passionate about. “Hospice patients are people who are viewed by primary care physicians to have an anticipated survival of six months or less,” Loeb said.  “The hospice objective is to make the person’s quality of life as good as possible for their last days.” The experiences he has had with people in their final days and hours are what Loeb has discovered to be the magic in massage.  He said he has many stories of hospice patients who were nearing their final days, and massage either helped them be comfortable and to feel loved in their last moments on earth, or in a few special cases, see a full recovery. He tells of one man in his early 80’s who had stomach cancer and was confined to bed and a wheelchair. “He’d never had a professional massage before,” Loeb said.  “After four massages, the man was walking around the neighborhood, driving his car, and was up for a re-evaluation of his diagnosis.  He appeared to recover and was discharged from hospice because the six months no longer applied.” Of course it’s not always this way.  Loeb also tells of one patient whom he massaged one afternoon and who seemed in good condition, and then the person died in the night. “Hospice massage has been gratifying and enlightening,” he said. Loeb is a retired veterinary pathologist, having studied at the University of Pennsylvania, Ohio State University, and Michigan State University, where he completed his Ph.D in 1965.  While at the Florida School of Massage some 34 years later, Loeb participated in extra electives including Student Clinic Management Team, Feldenkrais, Infant Massage, and Choosing Happiness. Loeb will return to FSM at 3PM on Monday, March 12, for a one-hour presentation on Hospice Massage.  Included in the discussion will be: Hospice and its objectives; What the massage therapist can learn from hospice patients; How the massage therapist can benefit the hospice patient; Techniques for the massage therapist working with the hospice patient; and Experiences with hospice patients. Email dar@floridaschoolofmassage.com to reserve your space.  The event is free and open to all.