Yesterday we put mom on hospice care.
What that means is she will be receiving additional care for the remainder of
her life. Her doctor placed an order for an evaluation by the hospice
company. Mom was evaluated yesterday.
She was approved because of her COPD.
The hospice company I chose is under contract with The Community*.
This company has a hospice nurse Monday through Friday from 9-5PM on The
Community’s* premises.
Main reason I looked into hospice is for
mom to receive additional care, hopefully reducing her anxiety. Mom has
become very needy to the nursing staff. They have mentioned to me that
she requires a lot of attention. By
putting her on hospice I am helping mom receive additional care and trying to
make mom as comfortable as possible for the remainder of her time (which is
totally in God’s hands).
Many people have informed me that most
families wait too long before they consider hospice for their loved ones.
Hospice is here to provide mom a better quality of life. There is one person at The Community* who has
been on hospice for 4 years.
Once I signed all the paperwork, the first
thing the doctor did yesterday is removed her Coumadin and placed her on
aspirin. By removing the Coumadin, he was able to discontinue blood tests
that monitor mom’s Coumadin intake daily to make sure her levels are within a
healthy range. While Coumadin can be a life-saving drug, unfortunately, the side effects can be life-threatening. Taking too little increases your risk for blood clots and strokes, and taking too much increases your risk for dangerous internal bleeding. Even tiny dosing changes can have a large effect. In addition, a dose that is safe and effective for one person may be much too high or too low for another person. We
have had problems in the past mixing too many medications for mom as they
sometimes interfere with her depression medication. Eliminating frequent blood tests is
one more step into making mom’s days hopefully more tolerable for her.
Every decision I make is trying to think what mom would want. Her comfort
is my top priority.
I am going to go back and tell you what her
last 10 days had entailed that has led up to the decision to put her on hospice. I am going to split this information into the
next two blogs since there is so much to tell.
A side note: My friend Marie, who had Melanoma for over
the past two years, died early yesterday morning. In addition, Mom Lentz
is going in for surgery tomorrow morning. Dad Lentz will be living with Ron
and me starting tonight night until Mom Lentz can go back home. Please
keep us all in your prayers. Thank you.
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