Its a Monday
Sigh. After a 3 day weekend its hard to go back to work. The good news is only 2 more sleeps until vacation begins! Am just beginning this blogging adventure and this very first entry will be short (a) because I'm supposed to be showered, dressed, and in the car by now, and (b) I'm still figuring out the mechanisms, backgrounds,etc of my site...I
( Read more... )
My mom's terminal illness was COPD with its associated problems. She was 74 (shy a month) and had long outlived her generation; I think she was ready to die.
When we do last minute admits, there simply is not enough time to get everything done
I hear you on that. My mom died about 34 hours after she got into the hospice house. But how sad for someone to die while you're in the middle of trying to admit them!
other end of the spectrum are the patients who simply refuse Hospice
Given that people used to fear going to hospitals because "that's where you go to die" I am quite sure hospice carries all that baggage and then some. After all, hospice is *expected* to be the last stop on the way out.
I truly don't envy doctors their between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place situation, being slow to refer, or having to take heroic measures for lost causes. And I do think many give their all to their patients and to the profession. But... guess that's why (as they say) they get da big bucks.
Shifting gears again: You mentioned wanting to be able to copy and paste things (like I did in this reply): you can definitely do so. (I italicize so you can see who said what.) Go to LJ's FAQ page, especially the "Journal Entries" section ... http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq.bml ... for all kinds of goodie treats you'll be able to learn to do.
Reply
Reply
And yeah, everyone I talked to in the caring or medical profession pretty much said COPD was a terrible way to go, both mentally and physically, as the patient tries to get the world to give her her breath back.
Reply
cardigirl
2005-06-19 19:30 (link) Select
My mom was one of those people who, half the time, did things I'd only call a professional to take care of, and the other half the time would call like a baby chick for assistance with assinine things a two year old could take care of. I'd have to say I really don't know how frail she was, but she seemed to me to be quite hale until the last six months (although she'd been on and off oxygen for several years). She got shingles, a particularly bad case evidently, then took a fall when the pain med made her woozy. She got better, then worse, then better, as she was shuttled between the Phoenix hospital, then assisted living to hospital to assisted living in Tucson, assisted living back in Phoenix, then into the hospital again and finally into hospice. I couldn't find a situation where she wasn't unhappy, which accounts for all the moving about -- which itself was a horrific strain on her, and I think accounts for why she died when she did. Midway through the moves, while she was in assisted living in Tucson, she'd gotten into quite good shape, and I think could have recovered to live longer -- if she'd been willing to stay put. She wasn't, and by the time she came back to Phoenix for the last time, she *was* starting to look pretty frail.
And yeah, everyone I talked to in the caring or medical profession pretty much said COPD was a terrible way to go, both mentally and physically, as the patient tries to get the world to give her her breath back.
Wow. I can see how all the moving around must've been exhausting for not only her, but for you too! And yes, watching someone be conscious of every drawn breath is tough. So scary for them. And they have a chronic hypoxia which tends to make them irritable and irrational at times...no fun for them, or anyone else around them. Speaking of Tuscon - we looked there last year for a possible job option..Arizona is an amazing State...It took a little bit to adjust to the scenery! (Just like it did when we moved to the lava fields of Hawaii!) My Husb. decided to stay in Hawaii (boo!) but it was fun visiting. One of my kids did a stint for his senior year of HS at a school just north of Phoenix..we explored the Sedona area of course - gorgeous isn't it?
Reply
I grew up in Tucson and prefer it to Phoenix, where I live now. It's just that I have such a good circle of friends and a decent job that I haven't been induced to leave. I'm working on my masters degree and will probably apply in Tucson once that's in hand (although anywhere in Arizona will do.) I've kinda got sand in my shoes, as they say. I love to travel and visit other places, but this is definitely home.
Sedona is wonderful scenery, to be sure; as a long-time Arizonan, though, it's kinda a shame how gentrified and over-the-top new-agey it has become. Back when I was in college (1970s), it was just a cool place to go hiking around; now it feels like you need to have a visa (or Mastercard lol!) to be allowed in past the borders.
Reply
Leave a comment