A Terminal Illness Primer for Caregivers: Interfacing with the Medical Community

Now the patient himself was staring at me, and all I could think about were the moments he would miss: holding his wife as they both drifted off to sleep, laughing with his kids at the first snowfall, raising a glass of champagne to toast his retirement, the birth of his first grandchild, a holiday dinner surrounded by family and friends.  Right then, in this moment, I could not tell him the unvarnished truth – that he was likely going to die.
– Amanda Redig, from The Measure of Time

I’ve posted a new “chapter” on my page, A Terminal Illness Primer for Caregivers.

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8 thoughts on “A Terminal Illness Primer for Caregivers: Interfacing with the Medical Community

  1. Pingback: A Terminal Illness Primer for Caregivers: Interfacing with the Medical Community | Vegan Today

  2. tearoomdelights

    Just from reading this section I can feel the weight of the responsibility being lifted from Charles. It must have been difficult for him at first to allow you to speak for him and ask the questions he probably would have liked to have asked himself, but over time I’m sure that he must have greatly appreciated the way you shared that burden with him. I often think it’s so true that a burden shared is a burden halved, and in this case, when he was sick and in no fit state to carry it all on his own, it must have been truer than ever. Good communication is key, as you explained so well, but keeping it together is just as important. Your focus on taking notes is really helpful, as so often we think we’ll remember things and then we end up forgetting the important details. This primer will become an excellent resource for a lot of people, I’m sure.

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    1. An Unrefined Vegan

      Thanks, Lorna. I remember exactly the day when my brother came around to accepting that I could and would handle the “admin” stuff. The nurse handed him a stack of prescriptions and other papers and without even looking at them or me – Charles passed them into my hands. I held back a laugh, but it really was funny. And good.

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  3. Brittany

    Once again, beautifully written. I love how you emphasize on making nice with the medical staff and they you are all on ONE team!

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  4. Somer

    I think too often people direct their anger at the medical team, who are often doing all they can and putting their heart and soul into helping the patient. I love this post girl.

    Reply
    1. An Unrefined Vegan

      You’re so right – we feel helpless in the face of dire diagnoses and that can create a lot of frustration. We count on doctors and nurses to fix us – and that isn’t always possible. I can’t say I never got upset w/ Charles’s medical team, but I’m grateful to them. I know they did everything they could. xoxo

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