Talk about Hospice

Its been another busy few weeks. The home nurse made her usual Tuesday visit. She noticed Mom's continuing decline, with the gait, poor speech and swallowing issues. She took Mom's vitals and all was normal save for a slight elevation in her heart rate. The nurse discussed with us that Medicare had finally decided it was time to discharge Mom. We've been though this a few times now and I was actually surprised the home care lasted as long as it did this time. So May 16 is the discharge date. I called a few places to inquire about some paid help to continue to have someone help Mom bath.

This morning as the health aid was leaving, I received a phone call from her neurologist. She stated that the home nurse has been reporting mom's condition, and that in light of her recent decline, she though it was time to have Hospice come out for an evaluation. This hit me like a Mac truck, even though its been in the back of my mind for weeks, and I've been trying to prepare myself for this very conversation. I said "I thought they only come out when there is only approximately 3 months left."  She answered " It's 6 months of estimated time left, and I think we might be there." Mac truck number 2 rolled though, and I had a good cry, the first I've had in a while. So now I am waiting on a phone call from Hospice to set up a meeting. I talked to my wife for a bit, and enjoyed her comforting eyes. I told her I needed to call the family. I called my Cousin to tell her the news, and ask for some support. I just don't think I can tell Mom about the meeting alone. She was very comforting and agreed she would be there will me. I guess you can never really prepare yourself to begin the process of saying good bye to a loved one even when you know its coming. At least we can let her know how much she is loved and make her as comfortable as possible.