Sadly, a friend of mine’s mother is in hospice care. They are expecting the end soon. Such a sad and horrible situation. The only thing they can do for her is to keep her as comfortable as possible with pain meds. It’s probably a matter of days at this point.
This brings back the dark memories of when my husband was in hospice for the last couple of days of his life. He suffered so much, was in so much pain. He wasn’t responsive at all at this point, couldn’t eat or drink. The nurses there took really good care of him, gave him high-powered pain meds and did everything they could to relieve the suffering as much as possible. They were kind and loving, and talked to him and treated him with utmost respect. Not only that, their kindness and caring also extended to me, my kids, and other family. I’ll be forever grateful to them for so lovingly helping and accompanying him (and us) on his last days until his final breath.
Those were long days and nights. I stayed there with him and rarely left his side the entire time he was at hospice. Whenever I took a quick shower in the bathroom attached to his room or went to the common area for a snack or something like that, I was so worried that he would pass away without me. I wanted to be there and hold his hand when he left this earth. And I prayed and prayed that the end would come soon, just so that his suffering would finally be over.
And then, Thursday, December 15, 2011, the time came. I was there. I held his hand, showered him with kisses and “I love you’s” as he took his last breath.
I’ll love you forever.
I think people have a lot of misconceptions about hospice and about dying, in general. I recommend “Nothing to Fear” by Julie Mc Fadden – very informative, written from a hospice nurse’s perspective. Death happens to us all, just as life does. And there are ways we can ease each other’s transition.
Thanks so much for your comment and your book recommendation. I’ll see if my library has it, or if not, I’ll buy it somewhere. It sounds very interesting and helpful.