There is a stigma to hospice. Patients who qualify for hospice are often considered losers who have given up. It’s a shaming, derogatory word like “retarded,” used to malign those mentally challenged. These people began to receive better recognition and attention when others stopped referring to them as retarded or unworthy. Despite what hospice workers … [Read more...]

Can we be kinder to others by taking better care of ourselves? Becoming set in our ways is a form of chronic illness. The New Year presents the opportunity to consider necessary life changes and make resolutions. Does being kind to yourself and others matter? Does having quality of life matter? If you had a life-limiting illness like heart disease … [Read more...]

Sean, a robust 29-year-old, came to the ER, experiencing constant chest pain and shortness of breath. This was not related to exertion or eating, nor was there evidence of infection or diminished breath sounds. Dr. H wondered if Sean might be experiencing a deeper kind of pain and asked, “Are you feeling stressed?” Sean broke … [Read more...]

Nora had been experiencing horrific side pain from a recurrence of shingles. At age 93 she was debilitated and moved from her lifelong home to a skilled-nursing facility.  She appeared to be deteriorating so her nephew, Tom – Nora healthcare proxy – thought it was best to have her transported to the ER and determine if there were any reversible causes. Was … [Read more...]

At 79, Hank had reached life expectancy. Yet, he was being treated for cancer in his liver duct with an experimental immunotherapy medication. He became delirious, with a temperature of 105 degrees, and sought treatment in the ER. His vital signs were stable, but survival was questionable. The ER physician did a quick assessment of the situation with the … [Read more...]

Ruth, age 67, had been bedridden due to multiple sclerosis and colon cancer for two years. Complicating matters, she was prone to urinary infections and sepsis. Her body was ravaged by IV lines, breathing and feeding tubes, colostomy and a bladder catheter. While Ruth appeared to be an ICU patient, she was not. Her husband, Bill, cared for Ruth in their … [Read more...]

Esther was living in a family group home at age 88. She had advanced dementia and suffered a previous stroke. Leann took care of Esther in her private caregiving home and was alarmed when Esther’s blood pressure dropped suddenly as she became sweaty and unresponsive. Paramedics arrived immediately and started IV fluids on the way to the ER. As Esther … [Read more...]

Penelope ‘wasn’t acting right’ and EMS transported her to the emergency department. Her distraught daughter, Lynn, arrived within minutes and scrambled to find the notebook listing her elderly mother’s vital signs over the past several days. Penelope had stopped chemotherapy for multiple myeloma and was being treated for a recent urinary tract infection … [Read more...]

Sam’s memory was fading at 82, but he was well-aware of having chest pain. After having undergone a second cardiac bypass surgery ten years ago, his wife Lucy knew to call 911.  The paramedics gave Sam nitroglycerin which promptly dropped his blood pressure and slowed his pulse rate. Sam received IV fluids and arrived safely at the ER with his pain … [Read more...]

Ed had an easy-going personality at the ripe-old-age of 82. He came to the ER with his worrisome wife, Sally, due to diarrhea and dehydration. Ed felt weak, but remained upbeat. He was dealing with prostate cancer that failed to respond to two different courses of chemotherapy. Sally was cautiously optimistic that the next round of chemo might … [Read more...]