18. Palliative Care at Home Part 6
By Susan Ellis of KeyLifeJourneys
There is a confused reality in the zone between sleep and waking. Life must be slowed down to a snails pace if it is to be understood. There is a pause before answering a question. There is a wait before action follows the decision to act. Tammy falls asleep in mid sentence and then five minutes later continues where she left off. Panic if life becomes too complicated - a shift change- new faces there when she wakes up. But with gentle reality orientation and answering her questions, she settles down to calm.
Hand /eye co-ordination is failing and she can no longer successfully initiate a phone call. She makes the decision "You deal with the phone from now on."
There are peaceful moments. "Is it nearly time to put the cat down?" She asks. Yes is my reply. "Is it okay if I live a few days longer than the cat?" Again the answer is yes. "I need to think about that" and it is a time for silence.
What are the thoughts that meander through the mind of a person who is dying? Are they causing anxiety: being distorted into mistruths? Are they best untouched by another, never to be revealed? You wait. Hoping you can live with the answer.
There is a confused reality in the zone between sleep and waking. Life must be slowed down to a snails pace if it is to be understood. There is a pause before answering a question. There is a wait before action follows the decision to act. Tammy falls asleep in mid sentence and then five minutes later continues where she left off. Panic if life becomes too complicated - a shift change- new faces there when she wakes up. But with gentle reality orientation and answering her questions, she settles down to calm.
Hand /eye co-ordination is failing and she can no longer successfully initiate a phone call. She makes the decision "You deal with the phone from now on."
There are peaceful moments. "Is it nearly time to put the cat down?" She asks. Yes is my reply. "Is it okay if I live a few days longer than the cat?" Again the answer is yes. "I need to think about that" and it is a time for silence.
What are the thoughts that meander through the mind of a person who is dying? Are they causing anxiety: being distorted into mistruths? Are they best untouched by another, never to be revealed? You wait. Hoping you can live with the answer.
Posted by Key Life Journey's Blog at 9/27/2010 10:56 PM 
Categories: palliative care at home
Tags: dying
Categories: palliative care at home
Tags: dying
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