Hospital staff hosts Christmas party for terminally ill Trenton man

Henry Dietz died Thursday

Henry Dietz, 56, of Trenton and his family pose in front of a Christmas tree at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, where staff members provided them with an early Christmas. (Photo: Henry Ford Hospital)

WYANDOTTE, Mich. – Staff at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital provided a terminally ill patient and his family with a Christmas celebration.

Henry Dietz, 56, of Trenton, was in hospice care for metastatic liver cancer. He died Thursday.

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Medical oncologist Dr. Jessica Schering, the hospital’s Oncology Team and the Progressive Care Unit threw a party for Dietz and his family Dec. 13. The party included music, gifts, decorations and food for Dietz and his wife and three sons.

The Dietz family opens Christmas gifts provided by Dr. Jessica Schering and Henry Ford Wyandotte’s oncology team as staff members look on. (Photo: Henry Ford Hospital)

Nurse Alexandra Sciacca raised $1,500 for the family in three hours, and Dr. Balbir Gandhi donated pizza and pop.

"The Oncology Team came up and spoke to my charge nurse, bought gifts and asked to use the solarium for the family,”said Stephanie Stokes, hospital director of patient care services. “The fourth floor staff then took it to the next level. They got the decorations and the tree so it was just like Christmas morning for them. The great thing is they did it on their own without even thinking twice about it.”

The children received toys, clothes, blankets and books.

"The little boys’ faces when they first came into the room were priceless,” Stokes said. “They couldn’t believe it. It was just perfect for them.”

A GoFundMe page has been created to help Dietz’s wife and kids get back to Germany. The family moved to the United States about five years ago, but all of their family members are in Germany.