My SIL remains under Hospice care. Her condition continues to decline, but her attitude is good. She talks about her faith and the fact that she will be able to see their daughter, who died when she was 18 months again.
I was asked to explain what difference Hospice makes in her situation, so I thought I would explain it.
People can receive Hospice care in different ways. There are Hospice homes where the person can reside and receive full time care. We have patients at the Long Term Care facility where I work who also receive Hospice care. They have a nurse assigned to them from the Hospice and usually an aide who comes in twice a week to give them special attention. There are also counselors and pastors who can work with both the patient and their families. People can also receive Hospice at home, which is what Jan is doing. In her case, she has her own nurse who comes twice a week and an aide who comes on two other days. They check her condition, bring medications or supplies she may need and speak to the Dr to have medication changes when she needs them. The counselors are helpful for the family and the whole organization makes it much more feasible for the patient to be at home. I think Hospice is a great organization. They help people to be as comfortable as possible, while maintaining as much quality of life as they can have. The Hospice nurses I have known have been very caring and patient. They also are able to arrange volunteers to do various things for the patient. There is a blog I read which is written by a Hospice nurse. She tells some of the stories of her patients and her job. Her name is Connie and the blog is Little Red Hearts from God. I encourage you to visit her if you are interested in how Hospice works.
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Bob and I are going on a short getaway Monday and Tuesday, so I won't be able to visit your blogs. I'll tell you about that when we get back.
