Re: hospice

August 31, 2005

hi thre,

my dad, 70, diag 5/04 with lbd, he went down hilll very very quickly. our

doctor ordered hopsice then. they are wonderful, we havfe a hosp bed for dad,

and ew have a wheelchair and we get meals on wheeels for the weeks i am out of

town they supply all the diapers, and bed pads we need, pay for all of his meds

etc amazing what all they do. dad gave up hospice temporarily when he had the

need for skilled nursing due to hip ball replacmeent surgeryh and then the

pulmonayr embolysis and the 2/ aspriation pnumonias. he will be asessing for

hhospice again, but i think he i s still classiified under medicare skilled

nursing, we want to utilize all of the best offers we can for him. so i think

we will quallify him for need of occupational and speech therapy but let hospice

take him for maybe his hip since we opted not to do anymore surgeries on it

since lbd has it in what i call a flamingo position. sigh thnaks sharon

Date: 2005/08/30 Tue PM 05:35:18 EDT

To: <LBDcaregivers >

Subject: Re: Re: Re: new member/alarm

October 13, 2005

Thank you Sharon! Stevie

stevie,

hospice was wonderful to us as well. and council of aging and elders affairs

office had daddy on a program where i paid 72$ a month and got frozen meals

on wheels,underbed pads, pullups the good type, baby powder, triple antibiotic

cream, mediplex bandaids, lots of doo dthing i got them every month. plus i

got 2 days of bathing for dad that hospice didnt cover. it was a govt subsidized

program so we only had to pay 72 for our part, the subsidy covered the rest

of the payment which was great.

hospice came in 5 days a week and bathed dad,m they were supposed to change

his bedding too but we usually did that while she bathed daddy so he could go

right back to bed when he was done. the visiting nurse came 2 times a week and

maintained dads medicine refills. it was so good such a nice break, and on

really bad days when i was so frustrated one time becuase dad had pooped in his

britches for the 4th time, the nurse came in and said dont worry about it, i

will clean him up, you are tired take an hour nap and i will wake you up b4 i

leavre. that was so nice that one hour of rest knowing dad was in great hands

was a mucn needed break, and dad wasnt so frustrated becuase she was such a

happy person that he was laughing as she cleaned him up. hospice also has a

traveling chaplain who came and visited dad and me quite a bit, and i wqould

recommned hospice anytimne they can help, hugs and good luck sharon m

October 13, 2005

Hello Gerry,

Thank you! Ever bit of information helps to comfort and sort out what needs

to be done. Thank you so much, Stevie

* * * * * * *

Sharon and Stevie-

Again, I can't say enough good things about my Dad's care from Compassionate

Care Hospice. Once a week, a volunteer came in and sat with my Dad so my

Mother could go out. The volunteer was actually dissapointed when we did not

need her. She always brought Dad treats. Besides being a volunteer, Margie was

also a preschool teacher and was taking a refresher course so she could

return to nursing as an Rn. Quality people! There was also a chaplain, who

brought comfort and peace to my Dad with his visits. Also on staff was a social

worker who gave us guidance when the end was near in helping the great

grandchildren. Then there was the aide. Debbie. She absolutely loved my Dad.

Always

hugging on him. Christmas time she gave my Dad an outfit. , was the RN.

She was pregnant and went into fetal distress. She called me to come be

with her when she was in the high risk unit while the c-section was pending. I

felt very honored that she wanted me there. I worked in the L & D and High Risk

area for 30 years before retiring last year.. These people are so wonderful

that you just develop bonds with them. Another wonderful thing about Hospice

is if you need equipment, you had that day or the next. Medications were at

the door by the next day. The Hospice nurse also communicated with Dad's

physician as far as prescriptions and problems go. Help from the is available

24/7.

Also, you mentioned Council of Aging and elders Affiairs. We received a

government grant for respite care, which provided 8 hours of care a week. The

quality of care was top knotch. They also had a day care program, but my Dad

never participated in it.

I really can't say enough for these agencies. I hope that the caregivers out

there will look into such agencies. It was more than a year, when The Elder

Care people called and said they had an opening. I had forgotten about making

the inquiry and was suspicious when I was told no fee, just a donnation of

whatever we could afford.

I am sorry for going on and on about these people and agencies, but I can't

sing their praise enough.

Gerry

Wilmington, De.

October 13, 2005

stevie,

hospice was wonderful to us as well. and council of aging and elders affairs

office had daddy on a program where i paid 72$ a month and got frozen meals on

wheels,underbed pads, pullups the good type, baby powder, triple antibiotic

cream, mediplex bandaids, lots of doo dthing i got them every month. plus i got

2 days of bathing for dad that hospice didnt cover. it was a govt subsidized

program so we only had to pay 72 for our part, the subsidy covered the rest of

the payment which was great.

hospice came in 5 days a week and bathed dad,m they were supposed to change his

bedding too but we usually did that while she bathed daddy so he could go right

back to bed when he was done. the visiting nurse came 2 times a week and