Participants: James Marcum & Danny Miller
Series Code: WM
Program Code: WM000384
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00:01 The following program presents principles
00:03 designed to promote good health and 00:04 is not intended to take the place of 00:06 personalized professional care. 00:08 The opinions and ideas expressed are those 00:11 of the speaker. Viewers are encouraged 00:13 to draw their own conclusions 00:14 about the information presented. 00:37 Praise God for I'm fearfully and 00:39 and wonderfully made. 00:40 This is what David proclaimed with 00:42 a loud voice. I'm Jim Marcum, 00:45 and I want to welcome each one 00:46 of you to this episode of Wonderfully Made. 00:49 Thank you for taking time out of your 00:52 busy weekend and busy schedule. 00:53 I believe we have a message that is 00:55 going to appeal to each one of you today. 00:56 I'm so happy to have as our guest in 00:59 our studio today Ron Mahlo. 01:00 Ron it's nice to have you here. 01:03 Thank you Jim for having me. 01:04 Well tell me what we're gonna talk 01:06 about today in Wonderfully Made. 01:07 Well Jim today we are going to talk 01:09 about Hospice. A Hospice can make 01:11 a difference, kind of a tough time 01:13 in your life, when life is coming to 01:16 an end and there are some issues 01:17 that you need do deal with. 01:18 Now how did you Ron, how did you 01:20 get involved in Hospice, 01:21 is it something you have always 01:22 been interested in or did you work 01:24 in this area? Well actually Jim 01:26 for many years I was involved with 01:27 healthcare, but really didn't know 01:28 too much about Hospice. 01:30 A few years ago my parents had 01:32 to become patients and that time 01:33 I realized the benefit that Hospice 01:35 was and how beneficial was 01:36 to those. Okay, well I don't know 01:38 many people out there might have 01:40 a tough time talking about end 01:42 of life issues. It's never easy 01:44 to talk about. I know in my 01:46 practice everyday I have to deal 01:47 with people that are coming to end 01:49 of the life issues, and one of 01:51 things that I've always struggled 01:53 with this and I wanna always 01:54 make sure is when I talk to them 01:56 before they die, I want to make sure 01:57 that they are spiritually right. 01:58 Is this one of things that Hospice 02:01 looks into? Oh it's such a huge 02:03 part of that, every Hospice team has 02:05 chaplain member on board to discuss 02:07 these different issues of Christianity 02:10 and so forth. And perhaps your 02:11 faith is of another faith is always 02:13 different avenues that we can use 02:15 to benefit through this time. 02:17 Heartwise Ministry Ron is the 02:20 ministry that's dedicated to finding 02:22 the truth in medicine. 02:23 There is a lot of people out there, 02:25 they have misinformation about 02:27 medicine and we also like to focus 02:29 on the spiritual and with this we 02:31 have got questions from literally 02:33 all over the world regarding end 02:35 of life issues and Hospice care 02:37 and what I have done is I grouped 02:39 them together. We would like to go 02:40 over them for viewer audiences 02:42 and for people that have written in, 02:43 you gonna hear your questions 02:44 answered today with Ron. 02:46 Let's go to the first question. 02:48 My father is a 92 year-old and has 02:51 been diagnosed with terminal cancer. 02:54 His quality of life was poor before 02:56 the diagnosis of this cancer. 02:59 I do not know which way to go in 03:01 regards to his healthcare? 03:02 Options include home health, 03:05 placing him in an Assisted Living, 03:08 Hospice care and rotating the 03:11 family members. What exactly is 03:14 Hospice and would this type of care 03:16 offer my father advantages over the 03:19 other services. Our main goal is quality 03:22 of life and Ben has written that 03:24 from Delaware. Jim one of the unique 03:27 things about Hospice is, it's all about 03:29 caring and comfort, maybe not so much 03:31 the curative side of the disease process. 03:33 We want to focus on the comfort, 03:35 with this question with the gentleman 03:37 of 92-years old; the body is starting 03:41 to get old. He is going to start to 03:42 wane a little bit. What we want to do, 03:45 we want to focus on the comfort to 03:46 make his last days here on life positive 03:49 and beneficial. This can happen in an 03:53 Assisted Living; it can happen in the home 03:55 setting or in some places Hospice are 03:57 contracted with different facilities 03:59 where they could be inpatient somewhere. 04:01 It's always encouraging for the 04:02 family to be a major part of the care. 04:04 Now Ron how does Hospice differ, 04:07 what does Hospice offer that 04:09 Assisted Living does not offer? 04:11 Well Assisted Living is more of 04:14 a facility or perhaps somebody is living 04:16 where they can have some of the 04:17 medicines given to them to help 04:20 them get through what they need, 04:21 perhaps meals provided and entertainment, 04:26 where as Hospice can impact and they 04:28 can stay in Assisted Living much like 04:29 an apartment complex. 04:31 But it is just another facility that 04:33 we can utilize, medicines are 04:35 given on time. We can provide the 04:37 medicines, bathing assistance for 04:40 personal care can be provided 04:42 through Hospice. Okay, and he 04:44 also has the advantages over home, 04:46 is this Hospice have advantages 04:48 over keeping the patient home 04:50 if they have a real active family? 04:51 Well that's one of great things 04:53 about Hospice we want to work 04:54 within the home, okay. 04:55 We want to utilize. 04:56 These are your last days of 04:58 your life, where do you want to be, 04:59 you want to be at home, okay. 05:01 And so Hospice can bring our services 05:03 to the home and impact right there. 05:05 The family is there, everyone is 05:07 comfortable and it's just great setting. 05:08 So it sounds like you view Hospice 05:12 as treatment? Oh very much, 05:14 very much. Not only treatment 05:16 for the patient but also the 05:18 treatment for the family. 05:19 We try to look at the family, 05:20 extended family, the patient, 05:21 the family is intra role in the treatment, 05:24 but we also like to treat them. 05:25 We want to look at their stress levels. 05:27 We want to make sure they are 05:28 sleeping okay, that their nutrition status 05:30 is just as well as the patient. 05:32 Because you know I've seen in terminally 05:34 old patients not only is the patient 05:37 ill but the caregivers is such a draining 05:40 experience on them. Very much and 05:42 if you have an elderly client, 05:43 more than likely their spouse is also elderly, 05:45 and has their own medical issues. Okay, 05:47 well Ben, I hope that answered your 05:49 question with some of the advantages 05:52 of Hospice. Let's go to Ann in British 05:53 Colombia. And Ann is writing today, 05:56 she says we have limited work resources 05:59 and I worry about my aunt who lives 06:01 next door. She is 85 years old and 06:05 lives alone. Her doctor says she 06:07 is in end-stage heart failure. 06:09 She can barely walk across the room 06:12 on her own and their question is 06:14 will insurance help with Hospice care? 06:17 That's a good question. It is a good question, 06:20 to be honest with you I'm not sure 06:21 completely on Hospice in Canada. 06:25 But here in the United States Hospice 06:27 is covered Medicare, Medicare aid, 06:29 and then admit with an approved 06:32 Hospice agency. Now those are people 06:34 that are approved for Medicare aid. 06:36 If you're younger person below 65 then 06:41 most people carry private insurance 06:43 at that point and then you have to 06:44 work directly with your insurance company, 06:46 but more than likely it won't be any issue. 06:48 Now it seems to me, I've been thinking 06:50 about this, that actually going through 06:52 Hospice for end of life issues would 06:55 probably cheaper on a system than 06:58 traditional care, are they have to be true? 07:01 I think it's much cheaper. 07:02 We look at the medications. 07:04 Some medications maybe we just 07:06 won't have to do any more. 07:07 The great thing about it is there is no 07:10 cost really to the patient. 07:11 Most of the medications that are 07:13 related to the disease process are 07:15 covered by Hospice, and then also 07:17 in a kind of durable medical equipment 07:19 like hospital beds, walkers, 07:21 and wheelchairs those things also 07:24 are paid by Hospice, no charge to 07:25 the patient. You know Ron this is, 07:27 this is a tough topic to talk about, 07:30 because no one likes to talk about 07:31 their loved ones and then passing on. 07:34 And I've looked at many different 07:36 health shows and we just don't 07:37 address these issues, because this 07:39 is tough. Do you find it tough 07:40 for the people to talk about things 07:41 like finances at the end of life and 07:43 what mom and dad should get and 07:45 how they should be cared for? How, 07:47 how do you get people to open up 07:49 and talk about these things? 07:50 Well it is very tough especially within 07:52 our culture. The western culture 07:54 just doesn't really to talk about 07:55 death all that well. 07:56 But someone has to step forward 07:58 and sometimes you have to be direct. 08:00 But you want to encourage and 08:01 provide environment that people 08:03 feel comfortable talking about it 08:04 because really you need to let your 08:06 loved ones know what's your wishes are. 08:08 Now do you ever find is usually when 08:11 someone wants to get involved in 08:12 Hospice is it come through the patient, 08:14 the doctor or the family or is it just 08:16 a sort of mix of the three. 08:17 Most of the time it is the doctor 08:19 that makes the referrals perhaps 08:21 the patients been sick they were 08:22 on test perhaps they have known 08:24 for while whatever the disease process. 08:26 Once the doctor has made that 08:28 determination that perhaps if 08:30 things continue the way they 08:32 were that there is a six month 08:34 window that something could happen, 08:35 that would make you eligible for Hospice. 08:37 Your family physician will then contact 08:40 whatever Hospice of your choice 08:41 then the process would start 08:42 from there. Okay, so Ann 08:44 in British Columbia, you know getting 08:46 back to your question, it looks like 08:48 insurance will not only help 08:49 with Hospice care but it sounds 08:50 like they are gonna encourage it. 08:52 Let's go on to John in Oregon. 08:54 His question is my doctor said I need 08:57 Hospice care and this is John, 08:59 even though he needs Hospice care 09:01 he is still writing in the Heartwise 09:02 Ministries. He says my doctor said 09:04 I need Hospice care. I'm not just not ready 09:07 to make that emotional jump. 09:09 I still feel okay, not great, my mind is okay, 09:12 but my doctor is insistent. 09:15 And my family will support me on 09:17 whatever I decide, is this a situation 09:21 you have encountered before. 09:22 Jim we have cases like this what John 09:25 is talking about. The patient feel great, 09:27 he doesn't think he need Hospice, 09:28 because there is a little bit of stigma 09:30 with Hospice that it's the end 09:31 of the world I only have six months 09:32 to live. That's not the case, 09:34 all the doctor is saying, there's 09:36 something could happen within six months. 09:38 I've had Hospice patients live 09:40 two years which is great 09:42 and beneficial. I would encourage 09:43 John that if he is not ready for 09:44 Hospice that's fine. He doesn't need to, 09:46 but it wouldn't hurt to have the 09:49 Hospice representative to come out, 09:50 talk to him, inform him and the family, 09:53 so if the time does come when he 09:55 needs it, he is well informed and 09:57 mentally he is prepared for it. 09:59 Now why do you think, the doctor 10:00 would be insistent on this? 10:02 Would there be anything that doctor 10:04 would know or would benefit John 10:06 that he would be on Hospice. 10:07 Well depended on the disease process, 10:09 and that's where it's very beneficial 10:12 for John to sit down and talk face 10:14 to face with his doctor. 10:15 If he wants a second opinion 10:17 by all means get a second opinion. 10:18 This is something he has to very 10:20 comfortable with. You know I might, 10:21 if I had a patient like that. 10:23 Ron I might say you know 10:24 I'm not doing this Hospice, 10:26 because I want you to die, 10:27 just want you to enjoy what life we 10:29 have to the fullest, and look at all 10:30 advantages Hospice has, we can get 10:32 you equipment, we can have 10:34 pastoral care come to your house, 10:35 where we can get you some special, 10:37 I think that's they way I would 10:38 approach him, maybe his doctor 10:39 just hasn't communicated with him. 10:41 And unfortunately, the ten years 10:43 I was working in medicine, 10:44 before I've even worked with Hospice, 10:46 I really didn't understand completely 10:48 what Hospice had to offer. Right, 10:50 well that's good I hope, John I hope 10:52 that's useful for you, but one thing 10:54 I would really want to encourage 10:56 you is make sure the lines of 10:57 communication between you 10:59 and your healthcare providers are good, 11:02 because when you think about your 11:03 doctor he is one of the person who 11:05 is just gonna go to some of the life's 11:06 toughest decisions with you. 11:08 Make sure you have good communications 11:10 and you are happy with your current situation. 11:12 I must go to the next question. 11:14 This person withheld their name Ron so. 11:16 She says talking about our own death 11:20 I find difficult. We talk so easily about 11:24 everything else. I guess it's just not 11:26 a popular topic. My doctor started just 11:30 to step me when I approached the issue. 11:32 I hope you do not side step the issue as well. 11:35 Not many ministries deal with dying. 11:38 Here is my concern; I'm scared of 11:41 dying despite being a Christian my 11:44 entire life. Is this a normal feeling 11:47 and the names withheld from this? 11:49 Unfortunately it is normal feeling, 11:51 but I just have to applaud here that 11:52 she brought the issue up with her doctor. 11:54 Doctors are human too and it is 11:57 uncomfortable, we do get attach 11:58 sometimes with our patients, 12:00 but yes it can be a normal issue 12:02 within the western culture especially 12:03 death and dying is kind of a fear topics. 12:06 Statistics have showed that people 12:07 just don't want to talk about it. 12:09 Most of the issues I felt that people 12:11 that have faced the fear of dying 12:13 is usually a lot of unresolved issues 12:16 perhaps with their family, financial 12:18 issues or something that they don't 12:19 want to leave behind and done. 12:21 I always encourage my patients try 12:23 to resolve these issues talk openly 12:25 communicate best it can be, 12:26 but the biggest benefit that 12:28 I have seen is a daily devotion, 12:30 or just a daily relationship with God. 12:32 There is peace, there is peaceful 12:34 rest in God. The patients that I have 12:37 had is to obtain this have lost their 12:40 fear of death and have face to forward. 12:42 So this isn't necessarily an uncommon 12:45 feeling that you've experienced. 12:46 Not at all. Okay, I guess, everyone 12:49 thinks that if you are Christian, 12:50 I guess you think that when it 12:52 comes to end of life, you should be 12:53 ready to go, be at peace and almost 12:55 be just ready to go step across, 12:56 but that's not always the case. 12:58 And it could be that you have peace 13:00 and strength in your Christian life 13:01 but again maybe you have 13:03 unresolved issue with maybe a 13:04 son or daughter, a brother or sister. 13:07 And lot of times we have to resolve 13:09 those issues, it makes things much 13:10 more easier. How do you get 13:12 through you know like it might 13:14 be in some instances, it might be pain, 13:15 or maybe a relationship hasn't been 13:17 fixed or they know their relationship 13:20 with God. How do you help patient 13:22 sort of saw through that and is that 13:24 something that Hospice does or that 13:26 something comes from the chaplain or 13:28 how do you work through all that? 13:30 Well within Hospice, every member 13:31 in the Hospice team has some kind 13:32 of a background or some kind of training 13:34 with counseling and to identify these issues. 13:38 The day, the visits the Hospice nurses 13:40 and the team makes, they are gonna 13:41 try to address these, but as to Chaplain 13:43 if it's a spiritual issue or any other 13:46 kind of spiritual issue. They are very 13:48 instrumental in going forward talking 13:51 about this. If you look at these issues, 13:54 it usually resolves. You know one thing 13:56 that's helps me in dealing with my 13:58 patients as I would explain them 14:00 to is death is a sleep and everyone 14:03 likes to sleep. We just want to have 14:05 a peaceful sleep. That's right. 14:06 You know and that's sort of you know 14:08 when they see like that, you know they 14:09 doesn't necessarily have be a lot of pain 14:11 and these issues, there is something 14:12 you can't get done. So the person 14:15 that wrote this question, I just 14:17 want to say that we are praying 14:18 for you and we hope that this is 14:21 answer has helped you and hopefully 14:23 some of these issues can be resolved. 14:25 Now next one is from a doctor in Ohio. 14:28 And this is a sort of tough 14:31 question here. This doctor in Ohio 14:33 says I'm skeptic of Hospice. 14:35 I think it's all about money. 14:37 Is there anything that cannot be 14:40 achieved by home health and a good 14:42 caring family? I didn't know Hospice 14:44 made a lot of money, Ron? Well neither 14:47 did I Jim. But it is funded mostly 14:49 by the Government that is true. 14:51 I always tell patients that one of the 14:53 nice things about Hospice all those 14:54 taxes that you've paid over 14:55 the years you finally get a little 14:56 benefit out of it. Hospice can do some 14:59 different things than home health. 15:00 They are both usually in the home 15:01 health setting, so Hospice can generate 15:06 their care right there in the home. 15:08 But one of the difference between 15:10 home health and Hospice that I have 15:11 known over the past is the Hospice 15:14 team is more trained to deal with 15:15 death and dying issues. 15:16 Perhaps at home health with nurse 15:18 would feel little uneasy and with 15:20 some of these issues. 15:21 They are a little bit better trained 15:22 with the use of pain medication, 15:23 so we can adjust and provide that 15:25 comfort without over medicating 15:27 the patients. And yes there is 15:29 the money issue too, the benefit 15:31 as I said earlier. Hospice does pick 15:33 up the durable medical equipment 15:34 needs, hospital beds, commodes, 15:37 walker, crutches anything that is 15:38 needed in the home to assist that 15:40 patient. Okay, well in thinking about 15:42 this question, it makes me think 15:44 about is how long is Hospice been around, 15:47 is it something that's been around 15:48 for years or this is a new concept, 15:50 who sort of developed, did you know 15:52 how all that started? Well I really think 15:53 we have been doing it for centuries, 15:56 but it's mostly the family care that 15:57 was taking care off. About mid-70s is 16:00 when the first Hospice program first 16:01 started coming on, so it hasn't been 16:03 around been a long time, but the theories 16:06 behind it has been around forever. 16:08 Now is this growing program or it's sort 16:12 of stagnant, I mean I hear about it 16:14 but I don't know whether it's something 16:15 that everyone is getting involved 16:16 in now or. I think every year the 16:19 numbers increasing to the millions that 16:21 are patients and it is a growing need, 16:24 but I think it's because there is more 16:25 education, more people are talking about it. 16:27 Because I think you know in talking 16:29 to viewers one on one today if you look 16:31 at America and the world, the world's 16:33 aging people are living longer. 16:35 People are living more independent, 16:37 modern medicine and better 16:39 healthcare principles are hopefully 16:41 keeping people alive and functional as well. 16:43 So I think this service is gonna be 16:45 there for long time to come. Well I think 16:47 so too. Now do you find it the people 16:49 are happy and families are happy that 16:51 you are able to maybe keep patients 16:52 out of the hospital, out of the emergency 16:55 room or did they find that rewarding? 16:57 What do they tell you after the 16:58 Hospice experience? I would say in many 17:01 cases it is, it's a reward back 17:03 to the Hospice team to know that 17:05 we did make a difference in someone's 17:06 life. I recently had a patient that was 17:08 sent home he was in poor health. 17:11 Really the physician thought that 17:12 perhaps he had only few days left to live. 17:14 The family really didn't know too much 17:16 about Hospice. They were little 17:18 reluctant for us to come in, 17:19 but they allowed us to come in, 17:21 we described to them what could 17:22 be offered to Hospice and they 17:24 allowed us into the home. 17:25 Jim you know that gentleman lived 17:26 an extra two months. His family got to 17:29 spend time with him. He got to spend 17:30 some of the holidays with him. 17:31 It was so rewarding for the family. 17:33 They took our hats off to us and applauded. 17:35 Ron a lot of times when I get in patients 17:38 in the hospital is they say the family 17:41 is scared to see their loved one pass 17:44 at home. They fear that emotional trauma. 17:47 They would just rather you know 17:48 let the hospital deal with those issues 17:50 because they don't want to see it. 17:52 How do you work around that, that incident? 17:54 Well in some cases that is the incidents 17:57 and we try to support them what they 17:59 want to do. We can look at doing 18:01 at home setting, if they are not 18:03 comfortable there; there's also 18:04 a nursing home. A lot of nursing homes 18:05 are contracted with different Hospice 18:07 agencies to revive the care. 18:09 And then in some cases perhaps 18:11 they want to stay at home, 18:12 but as time draws closer, the fear of the 18:15 family of witnessing this or maybe 18:17 just the pressure what it takes. 18:19 We place the patient into the Hospice 18:21 to give the family a bit of respite 18:23 and then provide the care there. 18:24 So the family doesn't even have 18:26 to see if they don't want be around 18:28 when they actually that happens 18:29 they don't have to be. That's correct. 18:31 Now nobody knows what time line 18:33 that run, and only God knows that, 18:34 but we train Hospice nurses we try 18:36 to pick up on difference signs and 18:38 symptoms that will indicate there is 18:40 something is in the process. Okay, now 18:41 Ron Dr. Ken in Ohio, you know thinks its 18:44 all about money, I have another I'm 18:46 sort of question that I like to sort of 18:47 bounce back at you. Have you ever 18:49 got any criticism from families about 18:51 things that haven't been done 18:53 well in Hospice and what some, 18:55 what might be some of those criticisms. 18:57 Well some of the issues that do 18:58 we face is and Jim you have to keep 19:01 in mind it's a very stressful situation. 19:03 Perhaps they don't feel like the care 19:05 is where they want to be, 19:06 and perhaps they feel that things 19:08 aren't done in a timely manner. 19:09 But again as that communication 19:11 feedback that Hospice team needs 19:13 in order for them to meet the 19:15 expectations. Okay, well you know 19:16 I am sitting here thinking about 19:18 that is you know trying to think, 19:20 what they do in Bible days. 19:22 You know, what did they do 19:23 in Bible days is to care for their, 19:26 I know I am just jogging my memory, 19:28 you know and it seem like families 19:29 did that back then, and it seems like 19:31 this Hospice is like an extended family. 19:34 Well it pretty much is, I don't how 19:35 many times I felt like part of the 19:38 patients family after its all set 19:39 and done and the families continued 19:41 to call me. The neat thing about 19:43 Hospice is, it just doesn't stop there 19:45 with a passing. Hospice provides 19:47 bereavement counseling at least thirteen 19:49 months after the passing of the patient. 19:51 Perhaps just more than one time 19:54 in a month, at least once a month, 19:55 a trained social worker or counselor will 19:58 keep in contact with the family just 20:00 to see if there is any issues that they 20:01 need to talk about. Okay, so Ken 20:04 I think that Ron answers the question 20:06 there doesn't seem to be a lot of 20:08 monetary gains here. In fact, Hospice 20:10 is the sort of service family to family. 20:12 Okay let's go on to the next question 20:14 here and this next question is from Kim 20:19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And Kim writes, 20:22 she has a simple question, she says how 20:25 our Hospice volunteers chosen 20:27 and do they receive training. 20:31 Jim there is such a huge need of 20:33 volunteers within Hospice. 20:35 Again it's one of those things within 20:36 our culture that we had hard time 20:38 dealing with and that's death. 20:39 The way volunteers are acquired 20:41 basically through churches, community 20:44 outreaches, perhaps just somebody 20:46 walking in the door and saying may I help? 20:48 They go through a training exercise 20:50 that they can recognize the 20:52 grief process. They can recognize 20:53 some of the disease process. 20:55 They are the eyes and ears 20:56 of the Hospice team and not only 20:57 that they might be able to asses 20:59 staying with the patient. 21:00 So the family maybe can get out 21:02 and have a little break maybe do 21:04 some grocery shopping, do some laundry, 21:05 or basic house work. So do you have 21:07 to have any special skills or knowledge 21:10 or education to be Hospice volunteer? 21:12 You just have to have the love 21:14 and the willingness to care. 21:15 So this is just like a ministry in itself. 21:17 That's right. Now do you have a 21:20 waiting list for volunteers or you see 21:22 yourself always needing them. 21:23 We are always needing them, 21:24 I think it will be great if we have the 21:26 waiting list. Okay so if you have 21:28 church out there that one wants 21:29 to look for some ministry that they 21:31 have been doing, look to you look Hospice. 21:34 I think they'll be more than happy 21:35 to have you. Okay let's go another 21:37 question and this question is from Janet 21:40 in Washington State and Janet writes 21:43 it seems to me we hear very little about 21:47 the dying process in medicine. 21:48 Is not this an important part of life? 21:51 I want to "die well". I know God has 21:56 a place for me in heaven, but I still 21:58 want to go out strong. Do you have 22:01 any suggestions? Now that's, that's quite 22:03 a question. It is, it's a great question, 22:05 and we all want to go out strong. 22:07 Christ wants us to go out strong. 22:08 He wants us to be centered in his life, 22:11 and if you have daily devotion with God, 22:13 if you have that relationship you'll 22:15 go out strong. We have to remember 22:17 Christ is waiting for us. He told us that 22:20 he went to prepare a place for us 22:21 and that's how you are going to go 22:23 out strong. You know it seems like in 22:25 talking about the whole life process, 22:27 we talk you know if you think about 22:29 babies for instance, and we spent 22:31 a lot of time on babies. You have baby 22:33 shower, you give a lot of baby gifts 22:36 and you know there is big deal when 22:37 you come into this world. 22:38 I guess you know some of that 22:41 it seems like very joyous occasion, 22:44 but yet I see when people do pass 22:46 it's not quite as joyous as I 22:48 would like it to be. What are your 22:50 feelings on some of that? 22:51 You know one of things I love to do 22:54 when I first meet a Hospice patient 22:55 is kind of incorporate some type 22:57 of celebration. Maybe there is not 22:58 the balloons and cake, but I want 23:00 to celebrate the life that we are looking at. 23:01 Who better to tell me than the person 23:04 laying there in the hospital bed? 23:05 I love to hear the stories of their past, 23:07 their experiences, what lessons they 23:10 have learnt and you know what 23:11 a lot of time the spouse or the children 23:13 come into the room and I've heard 23:15 many stories of them saying you know 23:17 what daddy or mom never told us 23:19 those stories before I'm so glad 23:20 that you were here. You want to talk 23:22 about these things and that's a great way. 23:24 You know now do you think people 23:27 as they go on towards the end and 23:30 they recognize it like Janet. 23:31 She is really thinking about this 23:33 dying process, do you think the 23:36 communication process it just improve 23:38 or you know how can that be enhanced, 23:40 because you know some families 23:41 just don't like to talk. You know they 23:43 have unresolved issue, there are things 23:45 that need to come out; there are things 23:46 that need to be set to promote healing. 23:48 How would you as a Hospice person 23:52 sort of help promote families that might 23:54 not be as open as they should and 23:56 you recognize there might be some 23:57 unresolved issues, how do you sort of 23:59 encouraged that? Well first half 24:01 is recognition and again that comes 24:03 from training, but the other thing 24:04 is if I'm talking to a patient and 24:07 I've sense that they do not 24:09 want talk in front of their family, 24:11 I will honor that trust that they 24:15 had with me. At the same time 24:17 I want to promote them to bring 24:18 the family in. Perhaps at times 24:20 I act as mediator with the full goal 24:23 of bringing those together, 24:24 so they can talk about their issues, 24:26 talk about their past, let each other know 24:28 how much they love them. Okay, now let's 24:31 say we have patient that's been, 24:33 you know they decided, the whole 24:34 family decided for Hospice. The doctor 24:37 sign on, they have a wonderful experience 24:39 but they go on beyond six their month 24:42 time table and they continue do well, 24:45 in fact maybe they are even healed. 24:47 Does that mean in the future that 24:50 they can't be involved, the Hospice 24:51 still stay involves in their life. 24:53 Let's say it's becoming a part of their 24:55 treatment plan for the disease, 24:56 you know what I'm saying. 24:57 Let's say they are getting well 24:58 maybe because the Hospice and the 24:59 chemical environment is changing, 25:01 they are healing their bodies because 25:02 you know some of these positive 25:05 influences maybe their resolved issues 25:07 and crisis come into their life 25:08 and as result their chemistry's changed 25:10 to this point, that the disease starts 25:12 to improve, and they go beyond 25:13 that yet they still want to keep Hospice 25:15 involved. How would that, 25:16 how would that since play out 25:19 in Hospice. Well again that's six month 25:21 window is just a figurative speech. 25:23 If they get better at any time you 25:26 can stop Hospice, it's what we 25:27 called Revocation, and you could stop 25:30 that at any time. If further down 25:32 the road maybe year or two or maybe 25:34 never we hope, if you do need to 25:36 restart Hospice it's not a promise it's 25:39 just matter of a phone call. Yeah, 25:40 because I had patient not long ago that 25:43 was placed in Hospice and Hospice sort 25:46 of rebuilt them, I mean they went back 25:48 and told them about some of things that 25:50 they have done in their lives, 25:51 made their life feel meaningful, 25:53 help them solve some of these 25:55 unresolved issues but in that process, 25:58 the will to live came back and they 26:01 went well beyond the six months 26:03 and you know eight, nine and 26:04 ten months, would Hospice still be 26:06 allowed to come into the home 26:07 and still Minister if that was part 26:09 of the therapeutic team? Well technically, 26:13 okay. If there is still Hospice patient, 26:15 Hospice will be involved. If they 26:17 want to stop Hospice that's great, 26:19 but most of the time, these are life 26:21 long relationships that we made. 26:23 I still to this day see patients that 26:25 maybe have stopped Hospice. 26:27 I see families that perhaps their 26:28 loved one has passed on, 26:30 I become part of it. They invite me 26:31 over lunch. Oh wow. I see them on 26:33 the streets. You really become part 26:34 of the family and the community. 26:36 Well I am beginning to see Hospice 26:38 care as a part of changing the chemistry 26:41 of the body much like a medicine 26:43 would. You know medicine changes 26:44 your chemistry, the way you think, 26:46 changes your chemistry, it seem like 26:47 this Hospice care is nurturing, is caring 26:50 for a patient, meeting their needs, 26:51 both spiritually and emotionally and 26:54 physically that could do a lot not 26:56 so much to the physical healing 26:58 but to the healing that comes inside 27:00 with the mind, so really the mind is 27:03 healed before the body might pass. 27:04 The greatest medicine is having God 27:07 in your heart and through your mind. 27:09 Wow! Ron we have about a minute 27:11 left today, would you like to leave 27:12 our audience some in talking about 27:14 Hospice. Is there some things that 27:16 you think that need to really be 27:17 understood or emphasized as we 27:19 close today? I think what we need 27:20 to remember what Hospice is that 27:22 although is coming to the end of the 27:25 chapter of the book that there is a 27:26 greater life ahead of us, and that Christ 27:28 is waiting for us. He is going to prepare a 27:31 place for us and he promise that he will 27:33 come back for us, that is the greatest 27:35 message. Okay, well I know that 27:38 talking about end of life issues is not 27:40 the most exciting topic. It's not exciting 27:43 as when I talk about heart attack 27:44 or defibrillator, but it think its 27:46 something that needs to be done and 27:48 you are out there in the audience today and 27:50 I know there is one or two people that 27:51 needed to hear this today, 27:52 and please if you have some of these 27:54 issues that we have talked about, 27:55 go get help because there is healing 27:58 that occurs even when you die, 28:00 there is healing that still could be done. 28:01 And I want you to praise God for you 28:03 truly are fearfully and wonderfully made. |
Revised 2014-12-17