Arkansas Valley Hospice, Inc.

Palliative Care is for patients who are chronically ill. Hospice is for those who have a terminal illnessDonnie said he joined the Navy because he could; he joined the Navy because he had to. I was going to be drafted so I enlisted, he said, shrugging off the realness. He was a young man employed by the Santa Fe Rail Road, working Saturday nights as a DJ. Donnie suddenly found himself in Adak, Ala. The Navy asked him what his interests were and he ended up running the Armed Forces radio station for the year he was there.After that Donnie was on a constellation ship for three years, patrolling the boarders in Vietnam. I loved it; I was in charge, he beamed. I asked him if he liked being in charge and he answered emphatically, You bet I like being in charge! I dont like having to answer to nobody, stressing the nobody. After, he settled back into life in La Junta, Col, returning to the railroad. He worked in the yard as a master in charge of the switchman. After 41 years, he retired.I asked what led to the decision to be on hospice? Donnie said no more hospitals, his wife Barb said, referring to what she calls The Episode, leading to a sequence of events. Barb described a blissful night to me, celebrating Donnies 71st birthday at his favorite restaurant; or so it began, after, Donnie passed out in the car. He ended up in the ER that night; ICU; and eventually, extended care.Donald Hjelmstad was diagnosed with Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), originally believing, a year or two prior, that it was sleep apnea. It was in the extended care facility that one of the nurses told us about palliative care, said Barb.Palliative Care is for patients who are chronically ill. Nurses provide home visits, acting as a liaison between the patient and his physician, allowing him to stay safely in his home. Hospice is for those who have a terminal illness. Donnie started on palliative care and as his disease has progressed has been moved over to hospice care. Barb said knowing the doctors, nurses, the chaplain, has helped to make it an easy transition from palliative to hospice care.Donnie said the thing he misses the most is his freedom. I asked him if he could do anything he wanted to do right now, what would it be? Id go to Cripple Creek, he said without hesitation.Editors Note: This article was written by Gina Paradiso. She is a Liaison with Arkansas Valley Hospice, Inc. and may be reached at 719.384.8827 or gina.paradiso@arkvalleyhospice.org

Its the call no one is prepared to receive: Susan! Moms being rushed by ambulance to the hospital. Can you get there as soon as possible?One of the first things Susan and her five siblings will be asked by medical staff at the hospital: Is there anyone designated to make decisions on your mothers behalf? Does she have a living will or a MOST form? Susan's mother is faced with chronic heart failure and is unable to make decisions for herself regarding the sort of medical care she will receive.Susan's mother never imagined that, seemingly healthy and at only 66 years of age, she would find herself in a position where she could not communicate her dying wishes. Will her children, who have just been devastated with the shocking blow that their mother is terminal, be forced to instantaneously come together to make the sort of decisions that will determine how their mother spends the end of her life? While Susan's mother had hoped she might escape this day or it would find her later in life, she is able to effectively communicate her wishes through her advance directives.Advance directives are a set of legal documents, directing family, friends and medical staff of the medical care one wishes to receive in the event she is unable to verbally communicate this. Advance directives can include a medical power of attorney and living will or MOST form.A medical power of attorney is the advance directive, designating a person to make decisions and communicate on ones behalf when becoming temporarily or permanently unable to make decisions regarding medical care.A living will or MOST form is the advance directive, communicating ones wishes regarding how life-sustaining measures should be handled. This can include what if any equipment should be used, whether or not resuscitation should be attempted (DNR), how food, liquid and tube feeding should be handled and decisions pertaining to organ and tissue donation.Its never too early to make your wishes known. Speak to your health care provider or give hospice a call for more information.Editors Note: This article was written by Gina Paradiso. She is a Liaison with Arkansas Valley Hospice, Inc. and may be reached at 719.384.8827. or by email at gina.paradiso@arkvalleyhospice.org