As a family caregiver, one of the biggest and often scariest decisions you might face can have to do with when it might be time to change the type of care that your senior receives. End of life care services offers different solutions for your elderly family member than she might have been able to choose in the past. She’s better able to focus on simply being comfortable and having the best quality of life possible.
It’s Clear Your Senior Is Out of Treatment Options
At some point, your aging family member may well find that there are no other treatment options available for the health issues she’s battling. She may also decide that the available treatment options are either uncomfortable for her or are ones she no longer wants to participate in. There is no judgment in that because it is all about what your senior wants at this stage.
Side Effects from Curative Therapies Are Getting Worse and Her Comfort Is Becoming More Important
One of the biggest issues with curative treatment options is that there are usually some side effects. Some of those side effects can start to become extremely unpleasant for your elderly family member. That may be a point at which she decides that is a stage where she wants to avoid unpleasant side effects as much as she can.
From that standpoint, it may be that you and your senior both have gotten to a point where you want her to be as comfortable as possible. End of life care is about helping your elderly family member to ease and to manage symptoms as well as she possibly can. That may mean not opting for all of the curative treatments that are out there.
Her Doctor Recommends End of Life Care
Sometimes the idea to embrace the end of life care options is one that comes from your senior’s doctor. At some point, your elderly family member’s doctor may advise that it’s just a better option overall for her to relax in the time that she has left. That’s a time when you do want to take this option seriously. Choosing to go further with curative treatments may be more difficult for your elderly family member than she anticipates that it might be.
Your Senior Wants to Just Enjoy the Time that She Has Left
Another big reason to embrace this option with care at the end of your senior’s life is simply that she’s tired and wants to rest. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your elderly family member deciding that she’s had enough of trying to battle her health issues. End of life care treatment options can make that so much easier for your elderly family member to do, and she’s able to focus on just enjoying the time that she has left.
Sometimes a period of rest is enough to allow your aging family member to gather her strength to try curative therapies again. Whether that’s a decision that she makes or not, having the option is incredibly important to her peace of mind.
If you or your aging loved one could benefit from End of Life Care Services in Branchville SC, contact the caring staff at Grove Park Hospice, at (803)536-6644.
Providing Hospice & Palliative Care in Orangeburg, Bamberg, & Calhoun Counties
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