How to say this? Ive been thinking about it for so long. Its a word that most people are scared to say, scared to admit when its needed and quite frankly misunderstood, and definitely under utilized in our society. Well I will just say it. Hospice. Its a fantastic service to be used as palliative and end of life care. Does it mean we are throwing in the towel? No way! Does it mean a person cant seek medical care? No. It is a service that helps someone who is suffering from an illness that cannot be cured. And by prediction have six months to live. Can one graduate out of hospice? Yes! Does hospice pay for everything related to the diagnosis? Yes, medications, equipment, a nurse visit once to twice a week, oxygen, spiritual care for the entire family. They even have volunteers who will walk the family pet! So why as a society are we so afraid? I dont have the answer. Why am I rambling on? Because yesterday my father made the choice of starting hospice. The second worst day of my life. But I must remind myself,this is not about me. This is about him, and being comfortable. The past two months all he talks about is how many co-pays he has paid out. That worry is now gone. The past two weeks he has not slept because he cant breathe. That is no longer a worry, as oxygen has been delivered! And guess what, no copayment! His eyes were of relief to this knowledge, as ours were full of tears. I stand back and worry, did we do the right thing? Then I remember his eyes that were relieved that there will be no more copays. as a nurse, I have stood back and watched so many families walk through this process. Telling my coworkers dont let me stuff tubes in my parents. But thats difficult to see when we are in the middle of the storm. We are simply there to guide and listen to the wishes of the person affected by something that has changed their life so dramatically, that their quality of life is being destroyed. This is where we are. This is our reality. My dad is an amazing man. Worked his butt off for 8 kids and a bunch of grand kids. My parents are simply the best ever! Thinking of others before themselves always. His grand kids and great grand kids have been and always be Zeke. He loves them all equally. Nobody has a crystal ball, but we should treat each day as it was our last, and treasure our loved ones. I love you Dad, and Mom thank you for being the best parents ever.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 23:53:45 +0000
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