Issue 49.13
Last year my father passed away at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer, hardly a day passes when I don’t think of him and the legacy he left me. Even as a person who has worked in the healthcare profession for 18 years my father’s passing taught me several lasting lessons on both home health and hospice, I would like to share these lessons with you:
Lesson #1- Don’t try and do everything your self- accept help and the resources in your community
My father battled cancer for 5 long years and had 4 major surgeries along with radiation and chemotherapy treatments; he spent over 25 days in Intensive Care in the hospital setting. My mother was his primary caregiver during this period, she never left his side. Her example was truly inspiring, yet took a toll on her health; she simply refused any help- regardless of the many pleas from her son to have home health come in to help with the day to day caregiver duties. It almost took her health in the end.
Home health exists as much to lessen the load for the caregiver as to provide excellent care and disease management of the homebound patient. The average caregiver spends an average of 39.2 hours a week involved in patient care; with a staggering 70% of these caregivers suffering from depression- in fact so great is the stress that this condition is well known among healthcare providers as “Caregiver syndrome”.
Care for your loved one, but please care for yourself as well. There are many resources available in Southern Utah to help you manage the care your give your loved one and yourself- use them! Home Health is the start to finding these valuable resources and providing the best possible care for your family.
Lesson #2– Hospice is not the “end”, only the beginning of peace of mind
Unfortunately; despite my repeated attempts to have my mother place my father on hospice after learning of his terminal diagnosis she did not make that decision until 2 weeks before his passing.
Hospice is a beautiful way to respect the wishes of the patient and family and integrate those desires into the care plan of the patient. The ability to manage pain and provide the best quality of life for the patient is one of the main goals of Hospice. When my Mother experienced the Hospice team and their caring for my Father, she said “ I wish I would have done this 6 months ago”
Hospice is not the end, only the beginning of a way to care with compassion, dignity and humanity for patients as they finish their life’s work with their family and friends.
I write this not as a veteran of the healthcare profession, but as a son who wants the best for you and your loved ones after learning a few lessons with the passing of his father, please if you are a caregiver –find the resources that will help you and your loved one enjoy the highest level of health and healing.
I along with our team of compassionate and skilled care givers at Horizon Home Health and Horizon Hospice specialists stand ready to help in any way we can.
Jason Smith can be contacted at Horizon Home Health , STG (435) 865-9202 And Cedar City (435) 865-7481. Horizon Hospice Specialists (435) 674-4744.