Why Hospice? My Journey as One…
Are you able to help care for someone that is terminally ill, with deep compassion, care, integrity and not have it affect your daily life? Once upon a time there was a nurse from a foreign country that decided to embark her journey to America. Being a Skilled Nurse in the United States, you have endless possibilities to work while simultaneously being able to carve yourself wherever you are meant or want to be. The choice is yours. I came from a setting where I worked as an ER nurse, hand in hand with doctors, saving lives, helping them heal and get better. How does one choose being in a Hospice setting, one may wonder?
Truth be told, my friends often do ask “Why Hospice? How can you do that, deal with death on a daily, doesn’t it make you depressed?’’
In all honestly, Hospice made me realize how little people know about Hospice and what we stand for.
Although, let me be clear, I have had doubts myself too, as how does one go from healing the sick, helping wounded, saving lives and giving people hope in recovery; to now guiding them through the end-of-life process. How?
The answer is simple, you just need to allow yourself to see it through my eyes.
Getting older is inevitable and at some point, in our lives we may be diagnosed with a terminal illness. While some Indvidual’s may overcome them, unfortunately death is part of the inevitable cycle of life that occurs throughout our lifetime. At times I think to myself “Who is a real hero in this setting?” Personally, to me, terminally ill patients themselves are, as they have their life span curtailed and they are taken away from their loved ones sooner than others. Being terminally ill is hard, not only must you come to accept it, but loved ones around you must as well. However, you have a choice to seek Hospice, which will provide you with dignity of life till the end, as well as support for yourself and your loved ones. Hospice provides several sub-services like Spiritual counseling and bereavement. This also includes scheduled routine visits (visits may vary depending on patient needs) from Registered Nurses, bathing aides, Nurse Practitioners, and Medical Doctors. The services provided have helped many of our families, because let’s face it, the grieving process may start long before the patient has reached the end of their life.
I will talk about Hospice Care more in depth on my following newsletter, but wanted to have you understand why I chose to be in this setting? Or shall I say Hospice found me?
Being able to understand that as a Hospice Nurse you are not ending the patient’s lives, the disease is, and you are supporting the client while providing comfort and easing their inevitable suffering. As a Nurse I have found myself to be compassionate, caring, and connecting with families during the Hospice path; you must understand that not all nurses can do this call. But if you can accept that this setting will not be easy, and share affection, love and guidance to the family during such a heartbreaking journey. You will know you have chosen the right path, as I certainly have found mine.