The difficult times in our lives often come when faced with problems we have no idea how to handle. An example might be riding a bike with no training wheels for the first time. You jump on the bike guided by the secure hand of a parent or friend. Regardless of the surrounding support, once the stable guide is removed you feel scared and uneasy. Your weight shifts side to side and you begin to realize you don’t know what to do but just keep peddling! Although it makes you feel scared and nervous, you realize that the longer you stay on the bike the more stable you feel. The bike begins to move fluidly to the point where you can stop peddling and coast from the momentum. Eventually you realize just how far you have come and how comfortable you now are with what had once been so frightening.
So many of our reactions to tough situations are played out in a similar way. We react emotionally to the situation and just “peddle” ahead without knowing exactly where we are going. This is a natural reaction for many people in new situations where they lack guidance on what to do.
A challenging situation you may find yourself in is what to do when a parent or loved one becomes ill. Worst case scenario, they are so ill that it seems they may not recover and that curative measures seem more for you than for your loved one. Your emotions surge and you realize that you have no idea what to do. Much like that first time on the bike without training wheels you begin to peddle and peddle, except in this situation it is repeating the same treatments over and over even though nothing changes. As time goes by you become more comfortable with the situation and only then do you realize that something needs to change. In our real life scenario, however, it is not as easy to see what to do next.
What if there were proverbial training wheels to attach to our challenging situation – the seriously ill parent or loved one, someone who, just like the helping hand on the bike, could guide you through what to do when your loved one becomes that ill? What if the “helping hand” was an entire interdisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, counselors, and support staff that could facilitate care for your loved one and explain everything to you? The doctor would ensure your loved one would get the best possible plan of care and keep them as comfortable as possible. Nurses would come to your loved one’s residence (home or facility) initiate treatments and medications and explain what to expect with care. Social Workers would be available to provide emotional support, access to social services and to facilitate transitions. Spiritual Counselors would be available to support one’s spiritual needs. The emotional toll would not be as draining with counseling and nursing staff there to lend a hand.
Now, if this did not already seem unbelievable, what if I told you that it would cost you nothing? That’s right, Medicare would pay for this. This is not a theoretical service or a myth, but a real service around since the 1970’s. It is called “Hospice” and there are highly trained and well established companies, like Assisted Hospice Care, that can provide these services for you. Contact Assisted Hospice Care for a full explanation and let them be your “helping hand.”
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