hospice

[guy_with_plan]

I was contacted by a social worked for hospice work. I went to my 1st client this week. It was a bit heartbreaking. Was just wondering if anyone else does this kind of thing? The woman had lung cancer (my mom passed away from this years ago), and it brought back a flood of memories. Shamefully, my first reaction was to bolt out of the house. Hoping I can make a difference, hoping it gets easier.

 

[13th Thief]

This is the first of many... just take a deep breath before you go in. You will be fine, mainly because you understand. Yes it is very tough because of the memories. I know, I almost burst into tears when I worked on my first cancer patient after my mom died... and it was only about a month later

Be strong, you were put with that client for a reason. Think of it that you are blessed with knowing them, and that you are continuing to help them live. I treat them just as if I was treating my mom, because I wish I was... so in some ways yes, I am giving to her by giving to them...

 

[Artie]

Thank you, Muriel!!! :}

 

[LIBERAL MUZZIE]

Hi Bodymovers,

It's possible that future visits will get easier for you, as Pandoras_Gift said, but it's also possible that Hospice work just isn't for you -- at least right now -- and that's OK if that's true.

For a number of years, I was the volunteer coordinator for Hospice in my town. My job was to train volunteers, match them with patients and families, and support them in their work. Sometimes, supporting them meant giving them permission to stop volunteering. Please know I'm not talking about firing volunteers, but rather helping some get over any guilt they might feel about moving on. Volunteering is meant to feel wonderful -- even Hospice work. Sometimes, we feel we should do something and it should be rewarding, so we make ourselves do it, when in reality it's something we dread and dislike. Then we feel that somehow we're a bad person to want to quit. Not at all. People who are meant to do Hospice work feel drawn to the patients/families, not repelled by the experience. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the emotions, they're like ports is a storm. They feel peace within the chaos. If you're not one of these people, it just means that you're blessed in other ways, and your gifts are better used elsewhere.

Just another perspective. Maybe future visits will get easier and the work will become enjoyable for you. If not, though, it's OK to stop.

 

[Speak_4_the_TREES]

Hi Bodymovers,

If you don't have it, get Gayle MacDonald's Medicine Hands. It has a good section on Hospice work, on mindset, on being, etc. It also discusses the fact that the lines between who is the giver and who is the receiver in Hospice and Cancer work are blurred. It's a two way street. Many times the therapist is also learning to heal themselves.
On the cancer/hospice floor I'm on, almost everyone (nurses) has had some personal contact with cancer. That's why they're there. (Myself included.)