14 April 2009, Tuesday
The doctor and nurse from HCA called today. I have finally been discharged from hospice care.
I was feeling well enough to be independent and should have made the request to be discharged earlier. There are so many more cancer patients who are worse off than me and I feel really guilty to be still under their care, encroaching on their time, effort and resources.
HCA has been caring for me and guiding me since Feb last year after my discharge from hospital. I must say that their service has given me great comfort and has made my battle with cancer very much more tolerable. Their service is truly indispensable and should really be commended.
From my place, they were called to another patient's place to do a terminal discharge. I found out that it meant the patient had been discharged from hospital and hadn't had much time left. It is now up to the hospice care staff to provide the necessary care and comfort on his or her last leg of the journey.
I admire the courage of the staff of hospice care. It is not an easy task caring for terminally ill patients, and at the same time, feel their fears and frustrations and sometimes watch them succumbed to their illness. One must be mentally strong to be able to handle such matters, as normally it is not a one-off visit but repeated visits over a period of time.
HCA Hospice Care staff - I wish you well! Please do remember to take care of your own health while you are taking care of us.
I will miss their visits, but no matter, as I have made some new friends.
Showing posts with label hospice care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hospice care. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Monday, 1 September 2008
Visit by Hospice Care Staff
28 Aug, Thursday - Nurse Sellan (probably not spelt correctly) from the Hospice Care called on me today. She had come in place of my regular nurse, Nurse Trudi who was on holiday.
Ever since I was discharged from SGH in February, the staff from the Hospice Care had called on me close to 20 times.
The care and attention that I received from them were very different from the services that I received from those at NCC. Here, the doctors and nurses adopted a more holistic approach in taking care of us. They ensured that we were comfortable not only physically, but mentally as well.
Like when the nurse was here, I related to her about the exchange I had with my onco a few days ago. As with Nurse Trudi, she talked to me and that helped me sort out my thoughts.
It would not be easy for me to discuss my concerns freely with my onco, probably also because my onco has a very tight schedule.
Like on 25 Aug, she suddenly asked if I wanted to continue with herceptin - I had thought that we had agreed to continue until the Cancer Society's subsidy expired in September, so I asked,
"Is it helpful to me?"
Onco said, "if it is not, I won't ask you. But you always like to make your own decisions."
My onco also didn't like me to interrupt when she was talking, that by the time she finished, I would have forgotten or changed my mind about what I wanted to say.
In advance or terminal cases, it makes a world of difference to have received the services of the staff from Hospice Care.
Ever since I was discharged from SGH in February, the staff from the Hospice Care had called on me close to 20 times.
The care and attention that I received from them were very different from the services that I received from those at NCC. Here, the doctors and nurses adopted a more holistic approach in taking care of us. They ensured that we were comfortable not only physically, but mentally as well.
Like when the nurse was here, I related to her about the exchange I had with my onco a few days ago. As with Nurse Trudi, she talked to me and that helped me sort out my thoughts.
It would not be easy for me to discuss my concerns freely with my onco, probably also because my onco has a very tight schedule.
Like on 25 Aug, she suddenly asked if I wanted to continue with herceptin - I had thought that we had agreed to continue until the Cancer Society's subsidy expired in September, so I asked,
"Is it helpful to me?"
Onco said, "if it is not, I won't ask you. But you always like to make your own decisions."
My onco also didn't like me to interrupt when she was talking, that by the time she finished, I would have forgotten or changed my mind about what I wanted to say.
In advance or terminal cases, it makes a world of difference to have received the services of the staff from Hospice Care.
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Hospice Care
When I was warded at SGH initially, Dr Wong mentioned that she would be arranging for doctors and nurses to check on me at home, and that I wouldn't have to pay for their services. She didn't elaborate further.
At that time, I was having problems breathing, coughing, couldn't sleep well, couldn't talk, exhausted, and I didn't pay much attention to what Dr Wong was saying. Also, at that time, I wasn't aware yet that I was at stage 4 and terminal and had only 3 - 5 months left if I didn't go on chemo.
After I was discharged, Nurse Trudi and her colleagues from HCA Hospice Care visited me at my mum's place. I wasn't exactly looking forward to the meeting because of the condition I was in then. My legs were like jelly, my back felt like breaking into two, I wasn't eating and sleeping well, was totally exhausted. I'd no idea what hospice care was about. I had asked around and nobody knew either. I had heard of hospice care for the aged sick, but deliver the care to the patient's home..., what is that? I'd thought it was some aftercare service though I didn't know why I should be receiving it.
I had a lot of questions for Nurse Trudi. She explained what their services were about. I could call them for medication and in an emergency, I could call them first instead of rushing all the way to the hospital. They had branches located in different parts of Singapore for convenience. They had been around for more than 10 years. Yet, I wasn't aware of its existence. Not so strange, when I come to think of it.
After all, when are we ever aware of stuff that we don't need and when everything is going fine for us. Only when in need, do we start looking around and realised that there were indeed a lot of stuff that we had missed out on before.
They were subsidised by the government and also funded by charity. Hey, that's one up for the government.
Elaine, a medical social aid with HCA, explained how I could get financial aid. She said I could apply for a withdrawal on my Dependant's Protection Scheme (DPS) and also activate my Home Protection Scheme (HPS - my husband and I had 100% insurance coverage). And, if necessry, I could even make a full withdrawal of my CPF to cover my medical expenses. I could? Yes, she said, because you are stage 4 and terminal.
Okay, that was the first time I learnt that I was under that category, maybe, because I wasn't mentally alert so the impact hadn't sunk in. Or, maybe because of the struggle for the past few months, I was prepared for anything, and nothing fazes me anymore. All I know was that, at that time, dying wasn't an option for me, no, not yet. Although, I realised later that some around me were worried that they were going to lose me.
Maybe, my onco had also half expected me not to pull through, that's why she called in the hospice care. Well, this half-century old lady still got a lot of fight left in her and is not ready to throw in the towel yet.
Now I know what hospice care is about and I am very thankful to Dr Wong for calling them in for me.
At that time, I was having problems breathing, coughing, couldn't sleep well, couldn't talk, exhausted, and I didn't pay much attention to what Dr Wong was saying. Also, at that time, I wasn't aware yet that I was at stage 4 and terminal and had only 3 - 5 months left if I didn't go on chemo.
After I was discharged, Nurse Trudi and her colleagues from HCA Hospice Care visited me at my mum's place. I wasn't exactly looking forward to the meeting because of the condition I was in then. My legs were like jelly, my back felt like breaking into two, I wasn't eating and sleeping well, was totally exhausted. I'd no idea what hospice care was about. I had asked around and nobody knew either. I had heard of hospice care for the aged sick, but deliver the care to the patient's home..., what is that? I'd thought it was some aftercare service though I didn't know why I should be receiving it.
I had a lot of questions for Nurse Trudi. She explained what their services were about. I could call them for medication and in an emergency, I could call them first instead of rushing all the way to the hospital. They had branches located in different parts of Singapore for convenience. They had been around for more than 10 years. Yet, I wasn't aware of its existence. Not so strange, when I come to think of it.
After all, when are we ever aware of stuff that we don't need and when everything is going fine for us. Only when in need, do we start looking around and realised that there were indeed a lot of stuff that we had missed out on before.
They were subsidised by the government and also funded by charity. Hey, that's one up for the government.
Elaine, a medical social aid with HCA, explained how I could get financial aid. She said I could apply for a withdrawal on my Dependant's Protection Scheme (DPS) and also activate my Home Protection Scheme (HPS - my husband and I had 100% insurance coverage). And, if necessry, I could even make a full withdrawal of my CPF to cover my medical expenses. I could? Yes, she said, because you are stage 4 and terminal.
Okay, that was the first time I learnt that I was under that category, maybe, because I wasn't mentally alert so the impact hadn't sunk in. Or, maybe because of the struggle for the past few months, I was prepared for anything, and nothing fazes me anymore. All I know was that, at that time, dying wasn't an option for me, no, not yet. Although, I realised later that some around me were worried that they were going to lose me.
Maybe, my onco had also half expected me not to pull through, that's why she called in the hospice care. Well, this half-century old lady still got a lot of fight left in her and is not ready to throw in the towel yet.
Now I know what hospice care is about and I am very thankful to Dr Wong for calling them in for me.
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