Having a bucket list and crossing things off is a great privilege denied to many people. All too often, there are stories like this: “We were going to travel the country. We saved and planned, bought the RV, and my wife got cancer.”
Because you never know what the future holds, it’s important to do what you’re saving for someday as soon as possible. Tomorrow and even the rest of today are not promised.
Facing the Unexpected
What if you received test results from your doctor that you have an incurable illness that would cause you to pass away in six months? What trips would you take, what conversations would you have, and what things would you want your family to know? Would you worry about how they would get by? Do you envision your final days at home, in a hospital, or in a residential care setting?
These are the “what ifs” no one wants to consider. If you faced this situation, where would you turn for help? Some might reach out to their religious leaders, others find therapists, and some also find solace through hospice.
Exploring hospice is complicated. People may avoid it because they wish they didn’t need it or may not fully believe it’s necessary. Another possible reason people shy away is that they may not realize that they don’t have to be actively dying to enroll. Because of the many myths surrounding hospice, the median enrollment is around three weeks or less.
When it’s possible to qualify for hospice sooner, emotional support is available to help ease the situation. When doctors can’t do anything more, and there are no more trial treatments or cures, hospice can help patients and their families have emotional and spiritual support.
Hospice Offers Physical and Emotional Comfort
Hospice teams include medical doctors, nurses, chaplains, social services staff, and volunteers. Your team can help you better understand your condition and how to live each day of your last chapter as YOU wish. Families can also greatly benefit from hospice support.
Hospice teams help their patients feel heard and have their wishes honored. Staff can also help patients communicate their wishes to their families.
Patients and their families can receive guidance about illness and the dying process. This includes gaining an understanding of what a peaceful passing can look like. Dying itself doesn’t typically cause pain, but symptoms of the disease do, and that’s what hospice nurses help patients to control.
Aside from pain management, hospice patients can also have medication to reduce the anxiety they may face about dying. Contrary to what many may think, hospice doesn’t overmedicate their patients. Nurses can offer pain management but also focus on quality of life, including helping each patient be alert.
Improving Quality of Life
Without hospice, patients might spend their final months, weeks, or days in and out of the hospital trying to manage the symptoms of their condition. Ambulances, emergency departments, and hospitals are meant to help people get better.
When a cure is not possible, why wait to have symptoms managed in those settings if there’s a more comfortable place to be? Hospice brings care, support, and medication wherever patients call home, whether in a private residence or a senior living community.
Family Support
While bereavement support for families is optional, hospice can offer it for up to 13 months following a patient’s passing. They do this because just like lasts are hard, so are firsts. First anniversaries, holidays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and birthdays can be emotionally challenging to manage. Staff typically reach out to check in and offer added support or even to be a listening ear during these occasions.
Hospice services are often funded through Medicare or Medicaid, private insurance, and private pay. If you’re considering hospice for yourself or a loved one, please get in touch with us at CaringEdge today by emailing us at info@caringedge.com. We can complete an assessment to help you navigate the enrollment process.