~ Imagine Life with Hospice Care ~
There are stories of loss and suffering that are only added to by some of the more institutional aspects of the health care system.
Brian and Helmi Callahan
Since Helmi’s death, Brian has devoted himself to ensuring that end of life palliative care becomes a reality for residents of the Bow Valley. Brian acknowledges that working as a community, aware of the way life moves within the community, is what his wife would have wanted. He believes there is poetry to that. Brian’s notion that as a society, we can do better is also a philosophical one – we not only live in place, but we want to die in place, and in our home communities. As the palliative care movement gains prominence, Brian feels it is also very practical and cost effective to be cared for in a hospice rather than acute care beds in a hospital. There are stories of loss and suffering that are only amplified by some of the more institutional aspects of the health care system. As a measure of respect for fellow human beings, there are better ways to manage end-of-life than in an acute care bed. Brian found he needed to be a strong advocate and fight the system to ensure a sensitive approach to end-of-life care. Brian emphasizes the universality of this need and this journey. We all want love and respect of legacy for the people in our lives. Brian believes “we can do better” not only for the memory of those who have passed, but also to prepare ourselves for our own passing and our generations passing. As a generational cohort, there is an opportunity to change the way we manage death and dying that will benefit all ages and stages of society.
Brian Callahan is a resident of the Bow Valley and a supporter of PCSBV. A few years ago, Brian lost his wife, Helmi, to a brain tumor and her last days were spent in a hospital. On an emotional level they walked down a life path together that ended without the end-of-life experience they would have wanted. He found the journey from diagnosis to end of life was less than peaceful and comforting as he would have liked for Helmi. It felt cold and clinical. When Helmi moved from home to hospital, she no longer had the same case worker. Once she was in the medical system, there was less continuity of care and as a patient in an acute care bed, Helmi and Brian experienced the business of the hospital around them - From doctors attending to medical needs to custodians attending to cleaning duties. Brian longed for a place focused on both the medical and psycho-social needs of the dying person and the family. An environment centered around the family with continuing care from the beginning to the end. A place that supported and respected the human(s) and the dying experience. Brian has gratitude for the hospital staff for their sincere and well meaning gestures of care that they gave as best they could within the institutional setting. However, imagine if Brian and Helmi had a hospice in the region that could have given them the end-of-life care and inclusive support Brian hoped for? How much better of an experience would they have had?
Thank you to Brian Callahan for sharing his story.
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