Im not sure who first came up with the cliché about what to do when the world hands you lemons, but I thought about it as soon as I realized this is National Hospice Month.
My experience with the concept of Hospice is both personal and profound. Several years ago, in the midst of a tough time for my familythe imminent passing of my motherwe had the good fortune to discover Hospice. Comparing that experience to all that Ive learned over the past year about the great Hospice facilities in South Florida, we were, Im happy to say, a textbook case.
From the first day to the final hours in which we were immersed in the Hospice program, we had many reasons to be grateful and not one cause for complaint. The social worker was nothing short of magnificent; as she performed the initial work up on my mother, we all knewfrom her professionalism and compassionthat Mom and the rest of us were in very good hands indeed. Almost immediately, she sensed not just my mothers needs, but those of the rest of us; she went “above and beyond the call” to make the entire experience as easy on all of us as it could be, given the circumstances.
One example comes to mind: She seamlessly orchestrated a conference call for my mother and all of her children to ensure everyone, including those who couldnt be physically present, understood her wishes for her remaining few weeks. Making sure we were “all on the same page,” gave Mom an opportunity to do what she did best keeping all of us kids in line! It gave her the final say in how her final days on earth would be spent. I know she cherished that because her laughter that day still echoes.
We soon came to realize that the social worker wasnt the exception, but the rule. Without the wise mediation of the case worker, we might never have learned that Mom wanted her final resting place to be in a mausoleumor “high rise” as we all came to refer to itrather than a “basement apartment.” (For some, this may seem like gallows humor, but for us its just a happy memory. What might seem to an outsider to be an insensitive comment often becomes a verbal lifeline between family and friends that enables us to pull each other through a crisis.)
Each day, nurses and aides visited like clockwork. Medicines and hospital equipment arrived within hours of the requests. Our telephone calls were answered promptly, courteously, and efficiently. And we all managed one final group laugh on moms last evening, when we all joined her for an Oscar party in her bedroom, an SRO affair to be sure!
When the thoughts of Hospice surface on one of my more cynical days, I truly wonder how, in this great big bureaucratic maze in which we live, did we manage to get Hospice so right? Weve all experienced the frustration of waiting weeks for a specialist referral or prescription renewal, or the myriad other glitches in our healthcare system.
Yet Hospice stands as testament to the good we can do for people and families truly in need. I cant imagine many situations to rival that which necessitates Hospice care when it comes to raw emotion. But, I know first hand the commitment brought by Hospice professionals to this most noble of tasks, and I will not soon forget it. I am proud to join with others around the country to offer my gratitude and appreciation to them during National Hospice Month.
Charles Felix, Publisher
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