John and Josee ' s Story Cont ' d ...
The availability of a hospice was a preferable choice for John and Josee; instead, he was hospitalized for the final 10 days of his life. While providing care and comfort, a residential hospice – like that envisioned by the PCSBV – would offer respite for the patient, caregiver, the family, whether their needs are emotional, physical or spiritual. “Travelling back and forth between Banff and Calgary was difficult, stressful and costly. We were travelling during summer months primarily and making that trip in the winter would have been horrible for John and me. Having a residential hospice option available in the Bow Valley is important and necessary,” said Josee.
Asia As Bow Valley residents, John and Josee had to travel to Calgary regularly for his cancer treatments but when it was determined that the treatments were not working, they were put in touch with AHS palliative care services in Bow Valley. John stayed at home as long as he could because he was averse to the idea of dying in hospital, and dying at home was not an option “The home is for the living…” he said. As Josee shared, “John did not want to be in hospital from the very beginning. He wanted a place that was more home-like, but there were no options. He ended up in hospital because he was too ill and needed more help and support than I could provide. A local hospice would have been better for him, and more helpful for me as his caregiver too.” A room has to have somewhere comfortable for the person staying with the patient to get some rest, have some privacy. There was not a lot of quiet or privacy in the hospital setting we were in. That is the nature of that environment,” Josee shared. It is important to have a hospice or palliative care centre in the Bow Valley so patients can be nearer to friends and family, and caregivers are able to have access to their home, their clothes, their friends and be in a familiar environment in the community. - Josee
“End of life care is complex. Palliative care information is often overwhelming.”
Josee believes a rural residential hospice facility in the Bow Valley with proactive, supportive programming to assist patients and their families through the journey would have made a difference for John’s end of life experience. “John would have been able to die in a place of his choosing, in an environment that could have supported us both – before, during and after.”
Thank you to Josee for the submission of her story and her willingness to share it with us.
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online