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Summertime Blooms for Caregivers
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Karl looked to be in the prime of life. He was 62-years-old with an athletic build and an easy-going
personality. He came to the ER with his wife, Julie, for difficulty breathing. Karl had experienced a series of unfortunate illnesses that began with an ankle injury. Following surgery, he developed a flesh-eating infection that resulted in the amputation of his leg below the knee.
When Karl underwent pre-op testing, a chest X-ray showed lung cancer. Karl had been
receiving chemotherapy following ankle surgery until this treatment destroyed his bone marrow’s ability to produce red blood cells. Karl was prone to anemia and had been receiving periodic blood transfusions.
Karl’s lung cancer created a pleural effusion, or fluid collection, between his left lung and chest wall. This new finding on his chest X-ray indicated that his
cancer was worsening. During the summertime of caregiving, many medical conditions, like flowers, bloom at the same time. During this stage of life, patients feel as if they’re bombarded by an onslaught of medical problems. Karl maintained a strong will to live, but interspersed in his season of summer were emotional thunderstorms.
Caregiver’s can best handle the onslaught of multiple medical conditions with these tips:
Hospital Groups Aim to Change Minds
About Care for Dying Patients
As noted in the article: Patients are dying in the environment they don't want to be dying in. "Care Decisions Connecticut" helps families and patients receive the treatment they want and not the treatment they don't want . . . If voluntary efforts like this don't work, the medical access system will need to impose more restrictions on some patients.
You’re considered an "apprentice" while tackling end-of-life issues. Having restrictions or limits to
medical intervention for terminal patients is like Donald Trump telling them, "You’re fired." You need to learn how to become a "journeyman" through mastering the skill of saying "No" to medical intervention. The end-of-life journey begins when you purposely resign from the task of living forever to avoid getting fired.
Is Palliative Care Right For YOU?
by Kevin J. Haselhorst, MD
The key to making medical decisions is understanding palliative care, which is the
bridge
between
advance care and end-of-life care
When you no longer have your health,
how will you spend your time and money?
Is quality of life more important than
staying alive at any
cost?
This booklet will teach you: - What palliative care means in practical terms
- The value of making your own medical
decisions
- How to gain peace of mind with chronic illness
Command respect during your next doctor visit by saying, "I receive palliative care."
Learn more at KevinHaselhorst.com
A Significant Mother
At the age of 90, my mother, Mary, has celebrated Mother’s Day for 64 years. I can vouch for 58 of those years being a "labor of love." My mother has raised seven children, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. The combined total of their ages is 718 years!
My mother’s
significance has spanned decades, but it's mind boggling to consider how many "years of life" my mother has spawned. Her contribution to others knows no bounds, and her discipline has taught me how to treat patients with respect.
June 8, 2017 "Advanced Care Planning Before ER
Visits" Silverado Peoria | Memory Care Community 13391 North 94th Drive, Peoria, AZ 85381
#TributeTuesday
Share a tribute to a loved one who has died, or to mark the anniversary of their death.
From May 9th: #TributeTuesday: Mothers (like Sandra Rippey) comfort the dying better than doctors. Blessed are they . . .
#WishfulWednesdayHave a wish for the weekend? Post your plan on Wednesday. Practice expressing end-of-life wishes during the prime of life.
How to Approach Living While
Dying
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Living While Dying
Cathy Zheutlin, the creator of the film, Living While Dying, shared she is "feeling blessed beyond the beyond by your generosity, kindness, and support as we learn how to change our consciousness here on earth in love school."In addition to continuing to raise funds for this film, she is also working
on creating legacy films for families.
Please support her film that makes “living while dying” easier for everyone to engage. “Living while dying”
is a new concept for most people. It’s also the name of a new film that’s being released by my friend, Cathy Zheutlin. She has asked me to be an advisor on the project. My opinion, like your opinion, matters in life and death. As Cathy explores the reality of her loved ones facing death, she turns the camera around and looks at herself. How will she approach living while dying? The end result of the film is to have viewers ponder and pick their own rite of
passage.
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