Many of us feel honored to provide care for our aging parents or ill spouses, but this honor can also present serious challenges. Read more →
Entries categorized "Hospice and Palliative Care"
Palliative care and hospice are related in that they both provide comfort care. The difference is that palliative care is for people who need comfort care while they are being treated for their medical diagnoses. Palliative care is delivered by a specially trained team... Read more →
Dear CV: I’m sorry about your mom’s health. We can feel so helpless when we watch a loved one suffer especially when the doctors to whom we look for advice seem to give up. Palliative care and hospice are related in that they both provide comfort care. The difference is that palliative care is for people who need comfort... Read more →
During the last few years of my caregiving, while my mother-in-law and my parents were still alive, my son was still having major health issues, and I was working full time, I read about the term “sandwich generation.” I remember thinking it was a clever concept... Read more →
I remember watching my parents age in the normal fashion. I’d occasionally look at them and be startled by the realization that they were getting older, but that was all I acknowledged. I never consciously dwelled on the fact that they would continue to decline and eventually... Read more →
“No one needs to die in pain.” That is what the social worker told me as I signed the papers that would put my father on hospice care. That is the mantra of hospice providers. As a family caregiver entering the new and scary realm of end-of-life-care, it became my mantra, too. I had no choice but to believe Read more →
Dear SG: My heart goes out to you. I’ve been in your shoes with family members, particularly my parents, though, I was fortunate in that my sister was also there so we could support each other. I also know from different personal experiences the heavy load of being alone... Read more →
I’m sorry about your mom’s health. We can feel so helpless when we watch a loved one suffer especially when the doctors to whom we look for advice seem to give up. Palliative care and hospice are related in that they both provide comfort care. The difference is that palliative care is for people who ... Read more →
No matter where we live, I hope that adult children will be alert to signs of loneliness in their elderly loved ones while respecting their independence as much as possible. Being alone and being lonely aren't at all the same, so knowledge of the elder's personality is necessary when care choices are considered. Read more →
My struggle with this dilemma began when my father started receiving hospice care. At this point in my caregiving journey, Mom and Dad shared a room in a nursing home. For many years, they had lived in their own private rooms on the same floor, but the end was near for both of them. We felt they needed to be together, and their money was nearly gone from the expense of two nursing home rooms. Read more →