One of our nurses told me about a recent fulfilling experience. A precious man, still young in his 60′s, and preparing to fulfill with his wife some of their dreams of world travel, fell victim to an aggressive dementia. The wife noticed some memory loss in her husband, and within 6 months he was in the advanced…
Category Archives: Palliation
You die like you live.
You die like you live. I ran across this phrase on another hospice blog. Although it brings to mind Josey Wales saying, “Dying ain’t much of a livin, boy,” the phrase is likeable for its accuracy and usefulness. Let me explain. We find that at the end of life, “Type-A” people are on top of every detail, discussing and…
A unique house call
I had a novel experience two nights ago when I visited one of our hospice patients at his home. He is a delightful elderly man who suffered a stroke 9 months ago. His illness left him bedridden and requiring total care. He lives with his son, who, along with a paid caregiver and hospice service, provides the care that enables him…
Work or ministry?
For humans, work, in whatever industry, enables us to make a living while providing someone else a good or service. It is no different for those who work with hospice patients. I have told our hospice team many times that the reason we work may be an income. But the purpose of our work is different. Our purpose,…
One last goodbye
One of our patients who suffered from metastatic prostate cancer died this past week. Hospice services kept him relatively pain free, and he seemed to me to be a man of faith. His main complaint was the incredible swelling in his lower body. The cancer had blocked venous return, and not even palliative radiation was…
“She squeezed my hand.”
One of our nurses had a wonderful experience today. Our nurse attended the last dying hours of a Texas Hospice patient who had been on our service for quite some time. Though the patient had become comatose, our nurse whispered in her ear, “I love you and I’ll see you in heaven.” The patient responded…
Does that sound like hospice to you?
How about another example of how our culture loves multi-tasking? Open Access describes providing curative treatment alongside palliative care. An example might be someone receiving the tail end of a chemo regimen while on hospice. The patient benefits from the hospice agency’s pain and nausea control while the chemo reduces the cancer burden a little more. Hospice agencies utilize Open Access…
