Praise for Hospice Care

My heart goes out to John B. Mullins (letter, May 1), whose wife recently died. A chill ran through me as I read his sad account. In early April my mother, who smoked for half a century, died at 68 of lung cancer under similar circumstances--in bed at home under the care of a hospice. She too struggled to breathe, to lie comfortably and to sleep. She died heavily sedated with morphine only eight days after the diagnosis confirming she was terminal.

Fortunately, my mother did not suffer nearly as much as his wife must have. I’m writing to tell of a very different hospice experience.

With my mother in intensive care and her death a matter of days or weeks away, a hospice worker came to the hospital and spent two hours with my family explaining our options. Knowing we had help to care for her and that she would die at home eased a burden of tremendous doubt for my family. We finalized the hospice arrangement the next morning. By 5 p.m. a nurse was there to assess her condition and our ability to care for her.

Within the next two days, a second nurse, a home health aide and a social worker all visited to care for my mother. My mother died later that week, peacefully and at home. I cannot say enough in praise of the hospice concept and the dedicated workers who helped us. My family and I were left in wonder at how these people deal daily with such difficult circumstances.

MICHAEL SCHUERMAN

Riverside