Myths about dying
Dying is full of pain, loneliness and lack of understanding and nothing much can be done about that.
Palliative care offers a way for a sick person to be confident that they will not be in great pain, will not be alone and that people around them will be trying to fulfill their wishes. They are at home professionally and caringly supported by the employees and volunteers of the hospice and surrounded by relatives and friends.
Hospice is a house – an institution, and it is the only place where palliative care can be provided.
Palliative care is not limited to a specific location. It is wherever people need it during that important time at the end of their lives – it should be provided most importantly at home. Home is the place where the patient is best understood, where they have their family and where it is possible to best fulfill their wishes. If because of some serious reason it is not possible to provide this care at home, there is a bed hospice here which provides services as similar to home care as possible.
People should die in hospitals so that those close to them, most importantly small children, do not see their infirmity.
When a person is born into this world they are best cared for by their near ones. When they are leaving the world, the situation is the same. A dying person needs those who understand them and love them. Those who care for the dying in this important part of life, will through this experience not only be on better terms with the death of their near ones, but also with consciousness of their own mortality. And children who see their parents gently and with patience caring for their grandmother or grandfather will then be able in the future to care for their parents and others close to them in a similar way.
Palliative care is only for old people.
It is true that most people die at an old age. But also young people die, even children. Palliative care is provided to people of all ages and the accent that it places on a fully lived life and on protecting the patient’s dignity comes into play both for the young and the old.
Palliative care is suitable only for those patients that do not need expert care.
The goal of palliative care is not to heal the patient, but it is a highly expert type of care that can provide possibilities of assistance even in very difficult situations. It specializes in sensitive and targeted resolution of specific problems – both physical and psychological – that appear at the demanding end of life. In some cases it can also take the form of specific intense care.
Palliative care has meaning only if “there is no hope left”.
When life is nearing its end there are two ways of dealing with it: either hopelessness, because life has already lost its meaning, or living the remaining time to its fullest. Palliative care works with hope: it offers the patient effective relief and the families the possibility together to fulfill, find, or heal their mutual relations in such a way that they can then look back on the time they shared together with gratitude and the feeling that this period of time had its meaning and that everything that could have been done, had been done.
Palliative care is intended for those who are reconciled with death.
A person who finds himself suddenly face to face with the fact that he is incurably ill and his death is nearing often reacts with hopelessness and resentment. The palliative team can patiently and gently help them come to terms with this situation in a manner and as fast as the patient wishes. The hospice works together with family members in such a way that this process goes peacefully and in accordance with their strengths and wishes.
Palliative care is intended only for the sick family member.
Palliative care is comprehensive and includes the whole family. The hospice provides healthcare, social, spiritual and psychological services to the family during the patient’s sickness and even after his death the care does not stop. For a various amount of time the hospice workers and volunteers continue to accompany those in mourning in their sadness and help them to find new certainties and hopes.
Hospice workers can speed up or slow down the process of dying.
Palliative care does not speed up nor slow down the process of dying. Just as during birth doctors and birth assistants are present with their experience and expert care, the palliative team accompanies the person during the end of life and is prepared professionally to respond to symptoms that go hand in hand with dying.
Hospices are religious or belong to the church; only believers are accepted there.
Hospices, just as other charity or social institutions, are quite often founded by a church or by religious groups. However, it does not mean that they are “automatically” only for church members or that faith is a condition for acceptance into the hospice. Hospice employees and volunteers use their abilities to the maximum for the good of all no matter what their worldview. They do not “push” their religious views and they speak with the patient or the family about spiritual questions only if the clients show an interest in the topic.
See also Myths about Dying at Home
