When someone you love is coming to the end of their journey, it’s never an easy time. Rather than spend their last days in a hospital surrounded by beeping monitors and unfamiliar faces, many choose to live out their time at home. While this is certainly a more comforting and usually a better experience for the dying and their family or friends, it can be difficult to navigate for caregivers. Here are a few tips to help you get through and make the most of the time you have left.
Be There
This can’t be stressed enough. Even if you find it difficult to watch your loved one slowly fade away, make a genuine effort to spend time together before the end. You will never get another chance here on Earth and if you chicken out, you’ll likely regret it later.
It’s okay if you don’t know what to say to the dying person. Sometimes just a warm hand to hold and the knowledge that someone cares is enough. If you’re not sure what to say, don’t be afraid to admit it.
Don’t Be Afraid to Talk About Death
It’s common for family members to refuse to discuss death as if to stay silent would ward off the inevitable. Death will come whether you discuss it or not. And keeping quiet on the subject may mean you’ll have no idea what your loved one wanted done afterward.
It’s best to approach the subject gently and then take your cues from the dying person. If they want to plan out their whole memorial service, do your best to accommodate that. And show you’re serious by taking notes you can refer to later. If, on the other hand, they don’t want to talk about it, perhaps instead discuss things like favorite hymns, songs, or scriptures in a different context. This will still give you ideas you can pull from when making arrangements, without stressing your loved one unnecessarily.
Put Personal Squabbles Aside
It’s not uncommon for family members to argue about all sorts of things whenever they’re together. But over a loved one’s death bed is not the time or place. Even if you think they’re unconscious or unaware, keep arguments and stress out of hearing or visual range. If you see an argument brewing, it may be best to politely ask the involved parties to leave the room.
Additionally, this is not the time to air grievances about the will, or to bring up past wrongs. If those things were really important, they should have been dealt with when the individual was in better health. Try to maintain a peaceful, stress-free atmosphere to help ease your loved one’s final days.
Don’t Neglect Medical Care
At the end, many people may want to refuse medical care for fear they’ll wind up hospitalized. Also, a dying person may not be able to easily go to a traditional doctor’s office or clinic. But medical care, especially pain management and the like, can make the difference between an easy passing and an incredibly stressful one.
Even if you have a home health aide or hospice care nurses coming to your home, when they’re not available you can still get high-quality, acute care delivered from DispatchHealth. Their team of experienced medical staff is caring, compassionate and capable. They can handle nearly everything that an emergency room can, from the comfort of home. They can treat urinary tract infections, joint or back pain, dehydration, skin infections and more. DispatchHealth can also administer IV fluids, prescribe medications, take blood tests and suture a patient. And after the visit, they’ll follow up with the patient’s hospice or primary care physician. Best of all, DispatchHealth is partnered with most major insurance companies, including Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, the medical cost for a visit with DispatchHealth is nearly a tenth of the cost of the average emergency room visit.
