Faces of San Miguel: Lee Carter

By Natalie Taylor.

Lee Carter was born in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, and received an MBA from the University of Virginia. He had a successful commercial real estate company in Texas, until coming to San Miguel de Allende on a lark in the 1980s. He fell in love with the local arts and crafts, and changed his life completely. He began buying art in México and bringing it back to sell in the US, dividing his time between the two countries. His back and forth trips across the border eventually made him realize that whenever he left San Miguel, he felt he was leaving home; and on the way back it felt like a return to where he belonged. In 2003 he moved here for good.

But something bothered him. In the 1980s, living in San Antonio, Texas, he witnessed friends and acquaintances dying from AIDS. Many suffered greatly in their final stages, without relief from the pain and discomfort. By the 1990s, hospice care had become available in the US, and Lee’s brother, dying of cancer, was afforded such care in the final stages. Lee saw the difference in these passings—his brother died a “good death”—at home, free of pain, and surrounded by family. It was a stark contrast to those friends whom he saw pass in the 1980s. In 2005, in San Miguel, he witnessed a friend dying in a painful way, without the support of end-of-life palliative care, because nothing of the sort was available in México. One year later Lee stayed with his father during the last part of his life. In this case, hospice care was involved, and once again he saw what “dying well” meant. His father passed without pain, aware of his surroundings, and sharing precious moments with loved ones. Lee said that many evening the gatherings around his father turned into “a party.”

These contrasting experiences highlighted the importance of hospice care in the last stages of dying. In 2007 Carter, and two others started Hospice SMA—the first hospice care center in México. Dr. María Lourdes Tejeda was on the staff, and she spent a year training in palliative care at the National Cancer Institute in México City.

Carter’s dream had always been to create an even better hospice care center, and in 2014 Mitigare Hospice Care was launched. In 2016 they received a grant from a Hospice organization in the US, and began talks with the city of San Migurl de Allende to acquire land to build a physical presence. This came true when the municipality granted a plot of soil in Atascadero, and construction of the center finally began.

The new Mitigare Hospice, Lee Carter Center offers high quality care in the final stages of life, regardless of financial circumstances. It is meant to serve the entire community of San Miguel—locals, and foreigners. It is an airy, beautiful space with state of the arts facilities, including a lovely garden that offers peace, and a breath of fresh air. The center will eventually have on-site training facilities in palliative care for doctors and other medical personnel. Although hospice care is meant as an at home management of the final stages of life, the Center provides a few rooms if in-home care is not possible. It offers a space for those who need shelter and care during their endmost days, including space for family members who might be at their side.

Lee Carter, a Founding Board Member and former president of the organization, exemplifies someone’s dedication to a dream; a work almost 18 years in the making, for the benefit of the entire San Miguel Community. Since 2005 when he led the construction committee of a Palliative Center in Shenandoah Valley, to his building of relationships with hospices worldwide, he never abandoned his vision for such a center here. Mitigare Hospice Care, the Lee Carter Center is an invaluable addition to our city, a trailblazing place any one of us might need some day. The team members are extremely competent in their specific areas—public relations, psychological support, nutrition, and other ancillary services. Dr. Lourdes Tejeda continues her involvement as executive and medical director; she heads a first-rate medical team with doctors and nurses specifically trained in palliative care. The concept and space offer a way to transition from life to death without pain, with caring and competent professionals. As the first of its kind in México it is a true pioneer in showing the way toward “dying well.”

More than anything, it is the achievement of a man who saw something he was not happy with, and decided to make a change. San Miguel de Allende is the better for the realization of Lee Carter’s dream.

www.natalietaylor.org