With all of the ice bucket challenges for ALS, I would like to say that while working as a Hospice RN I had the privilege of taking care of many ALS patients. I wrote an article about one of my most memorable experiences that is entitled The Long Voyage Home . Here it is. Please excuse the typos because of fat fingers & autocorrect. As a hospice nurse, Ive been present at a lot of deaths. Though they have all affected me, one death has had a great impact on me. Allen Schmidt was an avid hunter who was struck with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. He was 47 years old when he died after battling the disease for approximately 4years. A social worker for Arkansas Hospice had arranged for Allen to go on a handicap hunting trip to Cascoe, AR at the Potlatch Unit of the White River National Wildlife Refuge. Allen was very excited to go on this trip. He had lost the use if his hands & legs, so his friends bought him an apparatus that attached to his electric wheelchair & allowed Allen to suck through a piece of plastic tubing to pull the trigger. It also had a lever that allowed for adjustments to sight the gun. Allens wife Debbie, his life long friend Jerry Homsher & I went along to assist. We left early Friday morning after packing all of the equipment necessary for Allen. He was dependent on a BiPAP machine to help his breathing most of the time, and he had to be lifted from the bed to wheelchair with a mechanical lift. The lodge was beautiful, set in the trees in the bank of Cooks Lake, which is fed by the White River. Allen & Debbie stayed in the room John Wayne had once stayed in years ago. This was of special significance because John Wayne was Allens hero. On Saturday morning we loaded Allen up in the van & went to a stand on the lodge grounds in a wheat field. Unfortunately we did not see any deer. At lunch, Jerry & Larry, which works for the National Wildlife Federation, found another site down in the river bottoms. We hunted that site that afternoon but still did not see any deer. The next morning we went back to the stand. We saw 4 deer on the way & several more at the stand. One was a big 10-12 point buck, but Allen couldnt get a shot because the deer had to be standing still. The morning was bitterly cold with sunlight streaming down through the trees. Allen said, Peggy, how long do you think I have? I said, Allen, I know youre declining but only the Good Lord knows for sure how long. Allen said, Well, you say a prayer for me because its coming. A little while later the pump on Allens portable BiPAP quit working. We got him back to the lodge to his BiPAP machine that plugged into house current. I called the medical equipment company who agreed to meet Jerry & me right away at Hazen with a new BiPAP machine. We went to Hazen, got the new machine & brought it back to the lodge. Allen was friends with Don McSwaim, who ran the lodge. Perhaps Dons recent diagnosis of prostate cancer had made their friendship even stronger. Allen kept saying he didnt want to go home. Unknown to us, he had shared with Don that he wanted to die in those woods & bury him under a big oak tree. When we finally set out, we had gone only 10 or 12 miles when the inverter on the new machine went out. Without the inverter we had no choice but to get back to the lodge as soon as possible & Allen back on the BiPAP machine there. It would be the next morning before we could get another inverter. Jerry, Allens friend, went outside to get the van ready for the replacement inverter. Allen told Don to go out there & break his arms because he could fix anything, & Allen didnt want to go. He told Don again, I want to die right here. Don told him he & his family could stay as long as he needed. We unloaded all the equipment & went back inside. By the next morning, it was apparent Allen was nearing death. We called his family. His father & mother, 2 sons, & many of his friends came to the lodge to be with him. Allens parents wanted to take him home. I asked Allen what he wanted to do, & he said, Peggy, I want to die right here, but I know its not feasible. I really want to die in these woods, right here in John Waynes bed. I told Allen, Ifs that what you want to do, then thats what well do. Allen told his family & friends that he would stay one more night & come home the next day. They said their goodbyes. A little while later I went into Allens room to check in him, & I said, You know I love ya Allen. He said, You know Im an ornery old cuss & I dont show it, but I love you too. I then said, You know its OK to let go, Allen. He said, I know & Im fixing to. Im going to die right here in John Waynes bed. I left the room & went to the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later I checked on him again & he had passed away. He had a peaceful look on his face & was smiling. There are not many people lucky enough to die in their own way, but Allen Schmidt was one of them. I was Allens nurse for 2 years. For the first time since Id known him, he was truly happy on this hunt. He was in his element. We owe a special thanks to Don, Reva, and the rest of the staff who made it possible for Allen to go on this hunt, & to die at peace in the way he really wanted. It was truly a privilege to have been part of his unique journey. Permission was given from Allens family to tell his story. It was published in the Arkansas Hospice magazine Spring 2006. The ALS challenge us about more than ice water poured over someone, its about finding a cure for this fatal disease.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:45:09 +0000
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