Assessing End-of-life Decisions with Your Senior

August 2, 2019 by Michael Drew, LNHA
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Hospice Elder Care in Bensalem PANo matter how long you’ve been your senior’s caregiver, there have been decisions you’ve helped out with along the way. As she nears the end of her life, there may be some new decisions or even old ones that you’re looking at from a different perspective.

Ask about Current Treatments and What Happens Next

This conversation might need to start with your senior’s doctor. It’s really important that both you and your elderly family member understand what her current treatments are and how they impact her health right now and in the future. If those treatments are curative, meaning that they are an attempt to cure her of a condition like cancer, they might be more intensive than she wants right now.

Talk to Your Senior about What She Wants

If you haven’t talked about aspects of your senior’s care that are new for her, such as intensive treatments like chemotherapy, it might be time to have another conversation, just the two of you. Ask her what she wants and, more importantly, be ready to listen to what she has to say. Very often senior family members have a change of heart about some therapies but might not feel as if it’s okay to share that with family members. Let your senior know you’re there for her.

Determine Where Her Preferred Care Is Best Received

Your senior might have been alright going to the hospital in the past frequently for specific therapies. But if it’s possible for her to receive those treatments at home now, she may be more interested in doing that instead. Some treatments that once were available only in certain settings can sometimes be brought to your aging family member instead.

Has She Exhausted Her Patience Being a Patient?

Something else to consider is that your elderly family member might have gotten tired being a patient. It’s not easy to constantly be on the go from one treatment or therapy to another. She may be at a point where she hasn’t given up on life, but she has given up on trying to chase curative therapies that take more from her than they seem to offer.

Hospice elder care providers might be the perfect answer when it comes to assessing her needs at this time. They can help with the practical aspects of her care, but they can also put you and your senior in touch with resources that help you to determine what else she might need.

If you or an aging parent is considering hospice elder care in Bensalem, PA, please contact the caring staff at Serenity Hospice today. Call (215) 867-5405.

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