Pebble Beach, CA Caregiving For A Dying Loved One Is Difficult : Look To Hospice For Help

A doctor and patient looking at a book


Caring for a senior can be extremely taxing, both physically and emotionally.  And when they become terminal, things only get worse.  The Hospice Foundation of America has some useful advice, the most important of which is that hospice caregivers do not provide full-time care.  Rather, they typically come in several times per week for a short visit to check on the patient’s condition and adjust medications if needed.  For full time help, you will need to turn to a Home Care Aide (HCA) company like Family inHome Caregiving.  In Monterey County, there are helpful services like Hospice of the Central Coast, Heartland Hospice and VNA Hospice.  It is very important that in addition to keeping your loved one comfortable, you need to take care of yourself.

Assisted Suicide Becomes Easier In California

A person holding hands with another person in bed.


One of the many laws that Governor Gavin Newsome is about to sign into law is SB-380 which will make it easier for terminal patients to end their own life.  In 2016, California became one of a small number of states to allow people to end their lives with a prescription from a doctor.  Now that the public has come to accept the concept, lawmakers are streamlining the process.  Instead of requiring that the patient make two separate requests for fatal medicines 15 days apart, the person can now make the requests only two days apart.  The new law will also eliminate the need for a written statement from the patient.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB380&campaign_id=49&emc=edit_ca_20220111&instance_id=49985&nl=california-today&regi_id=52105769&segment_id=79349&te=1&user_id=7052b81671c57203c64c377c7522baa7

Carmel, CA Family Caregivers Face Heartbreaking Journey With Alzheimer’s Disease, Often Ending Up In Hospice

A person holding hands with another person in bed.


There was a heart breaking article in the Wall Street Journal recently. It featured Nick Clement, age 78, who has cared for his wife Lucy for the past decade. Lucy has Lewy body dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease. Nick wanted to take care of his wife, however, he quickly found out how difficult it is taking care of someone who is slipping rapidly into dementia. As her disease progressed, she was unable to brush her teeth or comb her hair, so Nick did that too. He said that some friends stopped calling, which can be heartbreaking. Eventually, after Lucy had dropped from https://www.homecaremag.com/june-2021/buzz-vibration-therapy125 pounds down to 90, it took its toll on Nick who was gaunt and depressed. He had to call in hospice which took over Lucy’s care. Hospice asked Nick if he had told Lucy it was OK for her to go. He had not, but went to her room and looked into her eyes and told her he would be alright, it was OK to go. Sadly, she died the next morning. Unfortunately, most of us will have to go through this with a family member. If you need help, CHOMP has a service called Hospice of the Central Coast, as does the Visiting Nurses Association (see links below). Please reach out for help if you need it, they both have compassionated caregivers.

https://www.montagehealth.org/care-treatment/hospice/

https://ccvna.com/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-familys-lessons-learned-from-a-decade-of-caregiving-11623691961

 

Monterey, CA Family Caregivers Face Heartbreaking Journey With Alzheimer’s Disease, Often Ending Up In Hospice

A purple background with the alzheimer 's association logo.


There was a heart breaking article in the Wall Street Journal recently.  It featured Nick Clement, age 78, who has cared for his wife Lucy for the past decade.  Lucy has Lewy body dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease.  Nick wanted to take care of his wife, however, he quickly found out how difficult it is taking care of someone who is slipping rapidly into dementia.  As her disease progressed, she was unable to brush her teeth or comb her hair, so Nick did that too.  He said that some friends stopped calling, which can be heartbreaking.  Eventually, after Lucy had dropped from 125 pounds down to 90, it took its toll on Nick who was gaunt and depressed.  He had to call in hospice which took over Lucy’s care.  Hospice asked Nick if he had told Lucy it was OK for her to go.  He had not, but went to her room and looked into her eyes and told her he would be alright, it was OK to go.  Sadly, she died the next morning.  Unfortunately, most of us will have to go through this with a family member.  If you need help, CHOMP has a service called Hospice of the Central Coast, as does the Visiting Nurses Association (see links below).  Please reach out for help if you need it, they both have compassionated caregivers.

 

https://www.montagehealth.org/care-treatment/hospice/

 

https://ccvna.com/

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-familys-lessons-learned-from-a-decade-of-caregiving-11623691961