End of Life-Care
Introduction:
Even with the best care, attention, and treatment, it may become clear that your loved one is nearing the end of his life in the last stages of a fatal illness. At this point, the focus often changes to make sure they are as comfortable as possible so they can make the most of the time they still have. Depending on the illness and the state of your loved one, this part of the end of life could last anywhere from a few weeks or months to several years. Palliative care (A health care system that focuses on improving the quality of life for people with serious illnesses) can help with pain and other complaints, like nausea, constipation, or shortness of breath, during this time. Hospice care (a type of specialised medical care that concentrates on offering assistance and comfort to people who are nearing the end of a terminal illness) can also help the person who is sick and their family on a mental and spiritual level.
Even after years of experience, this last part of taking care of someone is often the hardest. Caregiving tasks are often mixed in with hard decisions about the end of life, deep sadness, and loss.
You might feel sad and scared, angry and in denial, or even happy that the fight is over for the person you care about. All of these feelings are normal, but they are all uncomfortable and don’t make sense together. You might also feel bad that you can’t do anything to help them. No matter what you’re going through, it’s important to know that it takes a lot of help to care for someone in the last moments. This can include both practical help with end-of-life care and making financial and legal plans, as well as emotional support to help you deal with the painful feelings you’re having as you come to terms with your loved one’s death.
When someone you care about is getting end-of-life, it is also a good time to say goodbye, make up, forgive, and show your love. Even though giving care in the last stages of life can be very painful, getting to say goodbye can be a gift that helps you accept your loss and move on from nursing and grief to acceptance and healing.
What Time should End-of-Life Care Begin?
When end-of-life care starts, it depends a lot on the patients and how their illness is progressing. There is no one time when it should begin. For Example, If Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia was suspected, your loved one’s doctor probably told you about the steps of diagnosis.
As a basic guideline for planning care, these steps can help you understand how Alzheimer’s symptoms progress. As an option for curative therapy, you may want to talk to your loved one about hospice and palliative care if they have any of the following illnesses:
- After many trips to the ER, your loved one’s health has been stabilised, but the illness is still getting worse quickly and is worsening their quality of life.
- In the past year, they have been taken to the hospital many times with the same or worsening symptoms.
- They would rather stay at home than spend time in the hospital.
- They have decided to stop getting treatment for their illness.
Needs of Patients and Caregivers in End-Stage Care:
Your loved one’s needs may alter as they enter late-stage or end-of-life care, affecting your obligations as their carer. This may apply to the following regions:
- Helpful Care:
Your loved one might not be able to talk, sit, walk, eat, or understand what’s going on in the world. As their caretaker, you may need to give them full support and extra physical strength to do daily jobs like bathing, eating, dressing, and turning. Personal care workers, a hospice team, or doctor-ordered nurse care can help you with these tasks.
- Comfort and Respect:
Even though your patient can’t think or remember, they can still feel things like fear or peace, love or loneliness, sadness or security. Whether they are getting care at home, in a hospital, or at a hospice, the best treatments are those that help them feel less pain and discomfort and give them a chance to connect with family and friends.
- Therapeutic Care:
You and your family may need a break from the hard work of caring for someone at the end of their life. The patient might stay in a hospice home for a short time, or you might just have a hospice volunteer sit with the patient for a few hours while you go out with friends or watch a movie.
- Support in Grief:
When you know a loved one is going to die, you might feel different things, like comfort, sadness, or nothing. Before your loved one dies, you and your family can get ready for the loss by talking to pros who help people deal with grief or spiritual counselors.
Climax of Life Planning:
When the patient’s family, friends, and medical staff know how they want to be cared for in their last days or weeks, everyone can focus on being kind and caring.
- Plan Early:
When the patient’s family, friends, and carers know how they want to be cared for in their last few days or weeks, everyone can focus on being kind and loving. People with diseases that could kill them need to talk to their loved ones about how they feel before a medical emergency. So, everyone in the patient’s family will know exactly what he or she wants.
- Take Legal and Financial Advise:
Talk to a lawyer and/or a financial advisor while your loved one can. Legal papers like a living will, power of attorney, or advance directive can be used to state a patient’s wishes for future medical care so that all family members are aware of them.
- Consider Your Values:
If your loved one was capable of making a living will or advance directive but didn’t, go with your gut or what you think they wanted. List the conversations and events that best show how these people think. When making choices about the patient’s care, environment, and end-of-life options, try to see things from their point of view as much as possible.
Try to get the kids interested if there are any. Children need to know the truth about their loved one’s illness and any age-appropriate changes you may have made. They may find it helpful to draw or use dolls to re-create feelings or to hear stories that explain what happened in words they can understand because things they don’t fully understand can have a big effect on them.
Option of End-Life Care and Placement:
In the later stages, when the patient’s health is getting worse and they need care 24 hours a day, you may need more help at home, or the patient may need to be moved to a hospice or other care centre.
Even though every patient and family has different needs, most patients want to spend their last days at home, in familiar surroundings, with family and loved ones close by. Multiple changes can be hard for a person who is dying, especially if they have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia that has progressed. Patients find it easier to get used to a new home or care centre before they are in the last stage of their sickness. In these situations, it’s essential to plan ahead.
- Palliative Care and Hospice:
Hospice is usually an option for people who only have six months or less to live. It includes palliative care, which is the treatment of pain and other symptoms, to help your loved one have the best quality of life in their last days. Some hospitals, nursing homes, and other places that provide health care have hospice services on-site, but most hospice care is given to patients in their own homes. With the help of hospice workers, the patient’s family and friends can focus more on making the most of the patient’s time left.
When a patient gets hospice care at home, a family member is their main helper. The patient’s doctor and the hospice medical staff tell the family member what to do. The hospice staff will check in on your loved one often to see what they need and provide extra care, such as physical and speech treatment and help with bathing and other personal needs.
A hospice team gives mental and spiritual care based on what the patient wants and believes. They also have staff on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Also, they help the patient’s loved ones, carers, and relatives deal with grief by giving them counselling and other mental support.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, dealing with the last steps of a terminal illness can be very hard and emotional for both the patient and their caretakers. This blog’s tips for carers could be a good way to offer comfort and support during this difficult time. The best quality of life can only be reached by taking the time to fully understand the patient’s needs, including those for mental, social, and physical care. Honest conversations about end-of-life planning, including legal and financial issues, can also help make sure that the patient’s wishes are honoured.
Accepting the chance to say goodbye and getting help during the mourning process can help carers find a way to acceptance and healing.
