Hospice, What a Blessing

I was reluctant to call hospice when the love of my life, Bobby, was nearing the end of his battle with cancer. I thought it signaled to him and others that we were giving up the fight. And I was afraid that his death would happen even faster.

I was wrong. The hospice team was wonderful and, more than anything, their goal was to help ensure Bobby was comfortable. They offered a care plan based on our needs and desires and visited regularly to monitor his condition. Their approach focused on mind, body, and soul; they offered everything from pain meds to music therapy, massage therapy, bathing, faith counseling, and family counseling. We took advantage of several of these benefits.

Here are some of the important details we learned:

1. A hospice doctor or your regular doctor has to certify that your loved one is terminally ill with less than six months to live if the terminal illness runs its natural course.
2. The hospice provider you choose if you are aged sixty-five or older (or if you qualified sooner for certain disabilities) must be Medicare-approved to get Medicare payment.
3. A hospice nurse and doctor are on-call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to give families support and care when it’s needed.
4. Hospice can be revoked at any time if you choose to do so.
5. Someone from your hospice team will talk to you about what to expect and what to do when your loved one is close to passing. Your team will know your loved one’s religious or cultural preferences. One of them will “attend” the death with you if at all possible or arrive shortly after the death to make the necessary phone calls, prepare the body, and support the family in the first few hours.

Bringing in hospice made caring for Bobby so much easier for me, my family, and Bobby’s family. We were at peace knowing he received warm compassionate care until the very end. And we were able to fulfill his wish of dying at home comfortably while being surrounded by family and loved ones.