Showing posts with label hospice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hospice. Show all posts
Monday, June 23, 2008
Portion of Proceeds to go to Make a Wish and HospiceWit in S. Africa
Portion of Proceeds from book sales go to Make a Wish Foundation . Also HospiceWit in South Africa to buy board games, Magical AIDS Journey and Magical Maze Journey, to help children with AIDS and children grieving the loss of a loved one, respectively.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
When to Call Hospice
I read a really informative posting on Carol D. O'Dell's wonderful blog, Mothering Mother and More, entitled "Is It Time to Call Hospice? Three Signs Caregivers Need to Know." It brought back memories of when my husband was ill with esophagus cancer and in tremendous pain. I didn't know which way to turn, and the narcotic pain medicine his two doctors prescribed didn't seem to help much.
My husband was in tremendous pain, 24/7 with esophagus cancer. Although he didn't say much, I know it was living hell for him with the pain. I was trying to manage it for him (heavy narcotic pain patches, high-end narcotic drugs, etc.), and I had never had any training and didn't know which way to turn. Neither doctor suggested hospice to us. Many times I would call the doctor's after-hour on call services, and receive nothing in return. Usually it was another doctor on call and he didn't want to be responsible for uping any medication. It was incredibly frustrating and ineffective to have to wait another 6 or 7 hours when someone you love is in debilitating pain.
I was under incredible stress because I was afraid of giving my husband too much medicine, and also trying to keep our three boys (11, 17, 18) on an even keel. When my husband was 3 months into his cancer diagnosis, my sister in law, who is a nurse and lives away, came to see us. She immediately told me I should contact hospice for pain control. She assured me it was their forte. I knew something had to be done. I had always associated hospice with end of life services, and didn't know they would help with the pain management end of things.
Once I contacted hospice they acted immediately. It was still a roller coaster with the pain, (many days of extreme ups and extreme downs) but there were also many days it was adequately managed and his pain seemed bearable. Hospice worked continually on his pain management, and my husband was on hospice 7 months before he passed away. They did everything possible to make this situation less stressful for not only my husband and myself, but my children also.
Here is a link to Carol's posting. http://caroldodell.wordpress.com/
My husband was in tremendous pain, 24/7 with esophagus cancer. Although he didn't say much, I know it was living hell for him with the pain. I was trying to manage it for him (heavy narcotic pain patches, high-end narcotic drugs, etc.), and I had never had any training and didn't know which way to turn. Neither doctor suggested hospice to us. Many times I would call the doctor's after-hour on call services, and receive nothing in return. Usually it was another doctor on call and he didn't want to be responsible for uping any medication. It was incredibly frustrating and ineffective to have to wait another 6 or 7 hours when someone you love is in debilitating pain.
I was under incredible stress because I was afraid of giving my husband too much medicine, and also trying to keep our three boys (11, 17, 18) on an even keel. When my husband was 3 months into his cancer diagnosis, my sister in law, who is a nurse and lives away, came to see us. She immediately told me I should contact hospice for pain control. She assured me it was their forte. I knew something had to be done. I had always associated hospice with end of life services, and didn't know they would help with the pain management end of things.
Once I contacted hospice they acted immediately. It was still a roller coaster with the pain, (many days of extreme ups and extreme downs) but there were also many days it was adequately managed and his pain seemed bearable. Hospice worked continually on his pain management, and my husband was on hospice 7 months before he passed away. They did everything possible to make this situation less stressful for not only my husband and myself, but my children also.
Here is a link to Carol's posting. http://caroldodell.wordpress.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
