Replies

I am going through this now with a close friend of the family.

I visited the other day. He was weaker than he has been recently, but he was sitting up in his chair, talking with all of us, and in generally good spirits.

He is at home, with hospice care workers coming in every day to assist.

We don’t know exactly when the end will come, but, the family feels he is getting excellent care from the hospice, and appreciate that he is at home, not off in a nursing home. I’m sure he also takes comfort in being in his own home as the end approaches.

It is so weird... what with Obamacare drooling to save what it can by encouraging people to die early, others wishing nothing but normal care (which would include feeding and liquids till the end) can’t give up their nursing home rooms.

Where is any sense of sanity and balance.

I cared for both of my parents at home until they passed..mother in 1967, dad at the age of 85 in 1988. I did not get any flack getting them released to me..the nurse at the hospital where my dad was, worked with me as to what I needed..(not much, acute leukemia no chemo at his age, his choice and passed 4 days after coming to the farm....My mother was in need of special care, paralyzed from waist down, cancer with metathesized to spinal cord. Her neurosurgeon gave me his home phone number to call if I had any questions. Mom passed after 6 weeks at my home, physical therapy came twice a week and the lab came once a week to draw blood to check if her blood work would allow palliative chemo to be given...(never had chemo due to blood counts.) One of the problems with some people is they really don't know how to talk with medical people...I was a retired nurse and had all the skills necessary to care for my mother...

Went to see my dad the day before he was to be released to me...he told me that the intern came in an said his doctor had ordered a blood transfusion and he didn't want one, but since his doctor ordered it, the hospital was going to give it to him....I went to the nurses station and ask to talk with the idiot that was trying to force a blood transfusion on my father....he replied ....you don't understand, his doctor ordered it......I told him ..NO you don't understand, he is refusing the transfusion....Like I said, you have to learn to talk to these people....

Being a patient advocate means your really in charge, but you don't know it and the doctors like it that way...