Mother was fine. Went shopping, cleaned house cooked etc. She slipped getting in bed. Hospice stepped in and quickly mother went downhill. First hospice was even caught filling mother's breathing treatment with morphine (right after giving mother a dose). Mother would say over and over so giving the morphine. I would give her maybe one fourth of what they wanted me to. And then only when she was in a lot of pain. They also kept her dosed up on Ativan. Because they goofed about her broken ribs saying just bruised mother quit them. Another one stepped in. Same things. Then this last one they said mom has a bruised hip. Mom and I argued it was broken. Because of hospice suffered so long.
They were hateful about me calling ambulance. So they dropped her.
Anyway immediately after mother gets to hospital she goes down so horribly quick. Then at the nursing home for PT mother very very suddenly went from talking, eating and moving around to death's door. You guys were part taking my mother away from me. Mother was so horribly afraid of death.
Hospice I believe takes good care of those with money and doesn't give a D for those without it.
All of this story is true.
Were you there when Hospice explained what they do? Hospice can't come in without a Doctor's order. He determines that there is nothing more that can be done for the person and they will pass within 6 months. (People do live longer and stay on Hospice) A DNR is put in place. No, they will not transport them to the hospital. Hospice means the client has agreed to no intervention of any kind. And if they choose to go to the Hospital they are made aware they will be dropped by Hospice.
If your Mom had a lung desease, morphine also helps with breathing. It has been mentioned on this forum before that people have been given morphine when they don't want it. Its my understanding that the client, if competent to do so, can be involved with making decisions about their care.
So sorry for your loss. But like said, people can decline suddenly. Your Mom was 86. People this age don't bounce back quickly.
In your profile, you mention a post about an Alabama women that was closed. We as members (the people who answer questions) of this forum do not control what posts are closed. The Administrator makes the decision on what to close and why.
A hospital's job is to treat the ill or injured.
A hospice's job is to make an inevitable death as pain free as possible. The classic example is a person with terminal cancer that doesn't want to suffer through radiation treatments.
You generally do not die of a broken rib, anxiety, or depression, so it must have been the lung disease that qualified her for hospice.
She has to qualify for hospice, she can't just sign up. There are fairly strict requirements over who qualifies and it requires a terminal illness.
So yes, if you send your mother to a hospital for treatment (and especially physical therapy) the hospice will be unable to do what they are supposed to do and will drop the patient.
Also not understanding why you wouldn't give her pain medication if she was in pain. It sounds like you made a very poor decision in that regard, and that poor decision of yours is why your mother suffered.
Pain Relief is the number one job when a person is on hospice.
Hospice is covered by Medicare, so your mother's financial situation is irrelevant unless she didn't qualify for Medicare for some byzantine reason.
I hope you can find acceptance & peace.
You called an ambulance to send her to the hospital, and hospice has to be stopped. They didn't drop her -- that's how it works.
You say she suffered horribly at the hands of hospice, yet YOU wouldn't give her an adequate dose of pain medication? What am I missing here?
Again, I'm sorry for your loss. You're clearly traumatized, but perhaps once your head has cleared you can read up on how hospice works and understand they tried to help and apparently were thwarted at every turn.
May God give you strength and peace during this difficult time.
One thing that you have to remember, your mom was dying, that is why she agreed to hospice.
When people get old and they are ill, they can fail quite drastically in a matter of hours. It is shocking and difficult to come to terms with, please seek grief counseling for your loss.
My sister had hospice and she didn't have any money. They were very helpful in her passing without unnecessary pain from cancer. She didn't have 2 pennies to rub together, so I have not personally seen economic discrimination in the services provided. My sister was not given actual doses of meds by hospice, her friends and family did all of that and she was in complete control of when and what she got.