Four Tips to Keep in Mind if Your Family Member Seems to Be More Lucid
Sometimes family members who are close to passing away seem to come back from the brink with an extremely lucid conversation. Often there seems to be a deeper meaning to the conversation and you might find yourself hoping that this means good news for your elderly family member.
Follow Where She Leads
If you’re trying to lead this conversation, it probably won’t go how you expect it to go. It’s far better to follow the lead of your family member, even if it doesn’t make sense just yet. These conversations are usually important to your aging family member and there may be some vital messages that she’s trying to share with you. Getting out of the way a bit can help her to communicate with you.
Listen to What She’s Trying to Tell You
Just because you’re getting out of the way, though, that doesn’t mean you won’t be participating. You’re not in the lead here, and that means that you need to be paying careful attention and listening to what your senior is telling you. She may be trying to pass along messages for other family members or apologize for wrongs real or imagined. Even if the conversation doesn’t make sense, you may be able to find clues that help you.
Don’t Mistake This for a Sudden Recovery
It is really tempting to see this as a sudden turnaround in your family member’s overall health. While that could be the case in some situations, it’s much more likely that this is a rare lucid moment in the process of your senior passing away. These types of conversations often take a lot out of your elderly family member, because it requires a lot of energy to come back to that extent.
Offer Support and Be There for Your Family Member
The best thing that you can do is to show your family member that you’re there with her and that you are listening. Try gently touching her or just letting her feel your warmth next to her. This can be soothing for your family member and allow her to concentrate on what she’s trying to convey to you.
End-of-life care providers can help you to understand and to deal with these periodic situations. Your family member might experience more than one of these sessions of lucidity. It’s important to treat them seriously, but not to get carried away by hope.
If you or an aging parent are considering end-of-life care in West Chester, PA, please contact the caring staff at Serenity Hospice today. Call (215) 867-5405.