When someone realizes the end of their life is quickly approaching, it can bring to light a lot of different emotions. Often, patients are in denial that their life is drawing to a close, or they may question their spirituality and faith. At Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care, we’ve also helped patients work through anger, sadness, and fear. These emotions can lead our patients and their families to feel overwhelmed and add stress to their lives at a time when they should be treasuring their moments together.
It’s always our goal to help the patients we care for work through these destructive feelings and come to a place of calm and acceptance. We’ve found that when we’re able to work as a team with a patient’s family, we’re able to better bring about this sense of peace.
Here’s how we play our role in comforting a patient and how you can help your loved one as well.
How Ardent Brings Peace
The ultimate feeling of peace is going to be different for each patient. We want them to get to a place where they realize they’ve lived a great life, and they’re able to live out their last days in comfort. They may be on hospice care, but we want them to focus on still living, making the most of the days they still have, and spending time with their loved ones.
While it’s something we aim for with each patient, it’s not a feeling that they’ll encounter automatically. To get them to this place, we have to work with them, listen to them, and comfort them through the entire hospice journey, and it starts with open communication at the very beginning.
Our first encounter with a patient or their family—whether it’s over the phone or in person—is so important in understanding where they are and what they’re going through mentally and emotionally. It’s their opportunity to express themselves and share their concerns or even vent about their fears and unease. These initial conversations will usually reveal clues into how we can go take extra, personalized steps in tailoring their care and helping them feel comfortable. It might mean asking our nurse to immediately direct their treatment to a specific pain or irritation, quickly bringing in a spiritual counselor if the patient is struggling with their faith, or setting them up with a volunteer to combat loneliness.
What You Can Do to Help Your Loved One
As key as open communication is on our end, it’s just as important to have between your family and loved one. Only they know what they’re going through, so give them space to talk. Spend as much time as possible with them. Ask open-ended questions and be present, really listening as they answer.
Use your time together to make new memories as a family or remember past moments together. We encourage our families to complete a life review with their loved one—creating a scrapbook, journal, or a recorded interview. This will help your loved one focus on all the things they’ve accomplished in life and all the different titles they’ve held (dad, grandfather, business owner, etc.), instead of concentrating on their current situation and progression of their condition.
While you’re spending time with your loved one, you should be trying to clue in on what their needs might be, even if they’re not directly vocalizing them. If you think they could use additional resources or visits from our team, let us know. Our nurses, spiritual counselor, and social worker are here for you and willing to help you whenever you need it. We can also point you to relevant support groups, or help you find additional care if necessary.
We’ll do everything we can to help your loved one and your family find peace. We always strive to provide the best care possible to our patients, and that means ensuring they have support, reassurance, and encouragement from the people who mean the most to them. To learn more about all the ways Ardent can walk with you through your loved one’s end of life journey, visit us online or call us at 559-408-5945.
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