Pat was talking to me recently about Hospice Southland. Her husband is having treatment for lung cancer which sadly is moving very fast. She said when the oncologists and nurses started to talk about palliative care, she was frankly terrified. Pat said she was not ready for her husband to die and not ready for life without him.
She received one of the Hospice Southland pamphlets telling her about palliative care. It explained that palliative care was all about
the patient’s journey, making life easier and more meaningful. Where symptoms can be managed and care is all about how the patient can be made to feel better.
The pamphlet talked about the Living Legacy programme where a volunteer from Hospice could write the patients own story and get this published for the family. Jim wanted this, he said it would help ease his transition from wanting to live and being frightened of dying to accepting that he has an end-of-life condition, and the thing is to make the best of the time left.
We organised a day for the volunteer to come and talk with Jim – only about an hour at a time and up to 6 sessions are usually needed. Jim thoroughly enjoyed it – trips down memory lane. Pat sat in and listened as well and felt she started to know about Jim’s early life. On the West Coast with his dad a coal miner. Jim thought his sister would have photos of the old house he lived in and some of his dad when he came out of the coal mine in the evenings.
Pat said she then found out about the Hospice Carers course, and she enrolled. Meeting with other carers who had the same fears as hers, learning about correct lifting, nutrition and having company was a very rewarding part for her of Jim’s journey. Pat told me that Jim is in the hospice now and that while he may only have a few days left the whole family is much more in tune with the stage where life is ending. They are taking opportunities to share stories, care
and love for each other. Learning about palliative care, what it can do and the help the family receives has been very supportive for Pat.
This is what we do, day in and day out. We need our communities support for this and are so thankful to receive it Pat said “I hadn’t realised that people could go in and out of the Hospice as and when they needed it”.
Sometimes Jim was in the hospital, sometimes at home with support from the Hospice Southland community based care team. There were days when no care was required but other times like now that the Inpatient Hospice bed Jim is in is a real place of security and peace for him.
Pat said to me that what Hospice Southland palliative care is doing for the family “is giving us the time for Jim to connect with family and friends”.
Pat said “she doesn’t call it palliative care but quality-of-life care for someone with an end-of-life condition”.
Thanks Pat, for your views.
