These peaceful death experiences made me a hospice cheerleader. I'd always thought it was a good program and knew that I would want such care if I were in a circumstance where I was terminal, but in pain. However, witnessing the strong, caring, efficient yet peaceful way my local hospice cared for my parents was enough to burn the hospice message into my soul. Their motto is "No one needs to die in pain." To make that possible is a noble mission.
Since that time, I've praised hospice organizations and encouraged people to seek them out. I still do. However, after reading a post on the agingcare.com forum about a woman whose mother was dying, and totally unresponsive, being spoon fed "because it was comforting," I asked the woman if she had considered hospice care for her mom. Another forum participant asked the same question. The answer? She was under hospice care!
This really set me back. An unconscious person who is dying is a person whose organs are shutting down. To force food down their throat is, in my mind, torture not comfort. A good hospice will watch the person carefully. My parents ate better under hospice care than they had before because they were out of pain. But as their physical state deteriorated and their organs, one by one, became useless, the diet was changed in accordance to what their bodies could use.
Eventually, the stomach and bowels were no longer functioning and food couldn't be digested. They slowly got so food was not wanted by the body. They were peaceful without it. There was no hunger because they could not process food nor could their bodies use it. Hospice followed them through the process, monitored them the whole time and appropriate measures were taken for their comfort, as needed.