My mother died last month. Although a loss, it was not a tragic loss because it followed a long, tortuous, 15-year decline of this feisty, fiercely independent 85-year-old woman. What was tragic was my failure to make sure she enjoyed the highest quality of life possible during her final months and years. When Hospice finally took over her care just three days before she died, it felt like a miracle.
To thank Hospice Buffalo, I plan to attend A Summer Affair on Thursday, July 30, and I hope you will join me from 5:30-10:30pm. This is far from a hardship – it’s at the cool, new RiverWorks complex on Ganson Street, and is a Wild West evening on the waterfront with cocktails, festive fare, an auction, raffles, a free photobooth, and lots of live country music. Tickets are only $50, $100 for VIP. Online ticket sales have ended, so just call 686-8090 to join me and to support Hospice at this fun annual fundraiser.
I also wish to thank Hospice for easing my mother’s pain and anguish by telling everybody what I did not know about how and when Hospice palliative care services can be accessed. I thought I knew. Discover now what I learned the hard way:
Most people know that a patient does not need to be at death’s door to be eligible for Hospice care. But did you know that you can call Hospice directly (in Buffalo and Erie County the telephone number is 716-686-8000) to request Hospice care for your loved one. My mother suffered through a horrendous, long Memorial Day Weekend while I waited for a doctor to order Hospice care. I could have just picked up the phone.
I also thought that Hospice would only provide care in a patient’s home or in one of their facilities. My mother was in assisted living facilities for more than a decade, and in a nursing home for nearly a month. I begged for palliative care, for additional medications to make her comfortable enough to read and enjoy meals, but doctors and nurses instead routinely tried to decrease the dosages, making her ever more miserable.
Hospice doctors could have prescribed palliative doses of the medications needed to ensure my mother’s comfort while she was in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and provided supportive services to me and my siblings as we struggled to help and support her.
Please do not wait until your loved one is at death’s door to call Hospice. Please do not wait for a doctor or health care professional to call Hospice. Please call Hospice regardless of where your loved one resides. And please support Hospice Buffalo in every possible way. More than a dozen individuals made a donation to Hospice in lieu of sending flowers to my mother’s memorial service last weekend and I disposed of not one single wasted blossom.
Finally, join me at A Summer Affair. I will be celebrating my mother’s life, and the extraordinary care provided to her during the last days of her life by Hospice Buffalo.
