How do I know when it's time to bring in Hospice Care for my parent?

Asked by NP  |  Mar 8, 2010

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Carol Bradley Bursack, Mar 9, 2010

Over the span of two decades author, columnist and speaker Carol Bradley Bursack cared for a neighbor and six elderly family members. Because of this experience, Bradley Bursack created a portable support group, the book "Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories."

 

Technically, hospice can come in when it appears that a person has six months to live. Some people go on and off hospice several times.
Most people say, after they get hospice care for their loved one, that they wish they hadn't waited so long. If you have a loved one who is terminal, a good hospice can help your loved one and the whole family.
Take care,
Carol

 
 

yes

Give a Hug

Jan 22, 2012

I will never go to hospice again,my mother put my father in hospice for he had cancer.All hospice did was keep him in a drug coma,After 2 days they come in and ask my mom if she wanted them to make it easy,she said yes then they shot him full of something and he came up for one breath and died.I hate my mother for doing this to my dad he was only 73.

 
 

NancyH

Give a Hug

Jan 22, 2012

When my mom's body finally succumbed to cancer, dad called in Hospice. He chose a private company instead of going through the county. Best decision we made as a family, was using this Hospice group. It took a few nurses, but we found one that all of us loved, and requested her from then on. Now mom wasn't on Hospice very long before she died, but this gal didn't just drug mom up. She did use drugs at first, but when we all didn't like the side effects of how it made mom feel, she stopped them and tried something else. Point is, she listened and worked with dad and us kids to find the best solution for mom. I think it's the first thing that all Hospice does, is to drug the patient so they won't feel pain. But the drugs that they automatically go to, cause hallucinations etc. and the family has to be the one that puts a stop to it. The whole point of Hospice was to make mom more comfortable before she died, because that was inevitable. But our accepting those drugs and the way they were negatively affecting mom, was our responsibility. My dad used to sleep with one hand hanging onto my mom's nightgown so that she wouldn't try to get up without his help. The drugs caused her to do that, and that had to stop.

 
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