Mom Needs Better Pain Management
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Dear Carol: My mom is nearly 87, lives in a nursing home, has mid-stage Alzheimer’s, advanced arthritis, and is nearly blind. She hates to get out of bed because of pain and eats very little. Her memory is poor and she doesn’t want to take part in activities. The medication that the doctor gives her for her arthritis doesn’t come close to controlling her pain. I’ve asked her doctor about hospice care but he says that she doesn’t qualify because she’s not considered terminally ill. I say her quality of life is so poor, and she has all of these problems, that at her age she should qualify. From what I understand, hospice could give her much better pain control. What can I do? Cheryl Lynn
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