By Anonymous
"…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength; and love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27
I approached a member of St. Andrew’s to inquire how her mother was feeling. I knew her mother had a serious lung disease and was not going to get well. I asked if she and her mother ever talked about the fact that the mother was going to die. She became tearful and said, "No, but we both know it is going to happen."
I inquired if she was aware of home hospice programs. While she knew the terms she was uncertain about how it would help. In a few sentences I explained the help and comfort a home hospice can provide and emphasized that hospice concentrates on "living well," not on dying.
I suggested she talk with her mother and her mother’s doctor about the appropriateness of a home hospice referral. She agreed to do that and said she would call me sometime during the next week.
The phone call came and I was told the MD was supportive of the plan, but her mother didn’t think she needed any help. We then talked about how to arrange for a home hospice to come to the home to explain the program to her mother in an informational meeting. If her mother did not want to participate, there was no obligation for her to do so. A follow up phone call a week later told me she was admitted to a home hospice and was very pleased with the care, guidance and comfort she and her mother were receiving.
All of this took at the most 20 minutes but it changed their lives. It is all because Parish Nursing has a role to play in the lives of the people of St. Andrew’s. The Parish Nursing program gives us "permission" to pursue, in gentle ways, assistance that might benefit a situation. Of course, we always leave the final decision about whether to use the help up to the person and their family. It is a role that brings comfort, information, support, and God’s grace and peace to people.
If you or a member of your family need the help of a Parish Nurse, contact the church office at 297-7201.