Hospice, Part III

We found the right hospice.

Do you know that feeling, when someone walks in the room, that the decision is really already made? It wasn't quite that easy, or that swift, but it was close.

When I talked with my therapist last week, I mentioned that I had diagnosed Dennis long before his doctors had given his disease a name. Then we were talking about the last hospice we interviewed and the problem with the feeding tube. I didn't want to do the fighting on this one/ I am tired and I knew the right person could find away around the feeding tube dilemma without having to play games.

So I went online again and looked for a new hospice team. I wrote to two agencies and let them know what our needs were. One wrote back saying they could not help and the other told me their mission was to meet the needs of the patient, whatever those needs were.

We met with them today and after ALL of our questions were answered, we signed up. We only met two of the staff today, but by the end of the week we will have met with two more. A new mattress for Dennis' bed that somehow adjusts his position through-out the night so I don't need to get up every two hours, has already been ordered.

I have been called a good advocate for Dennis, but maybe I am just trying to take care of myself. When he sleeps, I sleep. When he is in good care, I am happy.

This may not be the way we wanted life to turn out, but no matter how life rolls out for us, we always manage to find good people to help us along.