In the later stages of COPD, you and your aging adult need to have a care plan that you can follow. Care plans remove a lot of uncertainty and help you both to make the right choices. Part of that care plan might include having hospice care providers on hand to help where needed.
Hospice Care in Elloree SC: End-Stage COPDPain Management Plans.
You might be surprised to realize that as COPD worsens, your senior’s pain levels are highly likely to go up compared to where they have been. Pain in the chest and lungs can be debilitating for your senior, so having a way to deal with that pain effectively is vital. Even if you’re not able to completely eliminate the pain she’s experiencing, whatever you can do helps.
Plans for Breathing Problems.
Respiratory distress is highly probable for a senior in the end stages of COPD. If your elderly family member is intending to avoid hospitalization for future respiratory problems, it’s important to have a plan that you can follow at home. Knowing which medications or procedures to try in which exact situations can help to keep you calmer.
Assistance with Durable Equipment.
People in the end stages of COPD may need more types of medical equipment than you might have anticipated. Devices to check blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and even oxygen concentrators are complicated if you’ve never used these types of tools before. Having help with these devices takes the mystery out of the situation.
Help with Personal Care Tasks.
You don’t realize how much energy certain daily tasks, like just getting dressed, take until you or someone you love get exhausted by those seemingly easy tasks. This is exactly what COPD does to your senior, especially in the end stages of the disease. Your elderly family member is going to need help or she’s going to find that her entire day’s energy is gone early in the day.
Caregiving Support.
It’s really hard to be the primary caregiver for a family member with end-stage COPD. If you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re going to find that you wind up with the same conservation of energy problems as your senior has. Hospice care providers allow you to take a break from the situation while knowing that your elderly family member is being looked after.
Your senior’s specific care plan will depend greatly on her individual health and what she wants from her care plan. You, your senior, and her medical team can all work out what she wants to include in that care plan together. Then hospice care providers can help you to implement the plan.
If you or your aging loved one could benefit from Hospice Care in Elloree, SC, contact the caring staff at Grove Park Hospice, (803) 536-6644
- Three Keys to Help Prepare an Aging Senior for Home Care Support - October 9, 2020
- Five Reasons Your Senior Experiences Discomfort Near the End of Her Life - September 23, 2020
- Thank You Hospice Team! - September 17, 2020
