Hope in Hospice
One of the first myths you hear about hospice is that hospice means giving up hope. Let's talk about hope for a moment.
According to Webster Dictionary the definition of hope is as an intransitive verb is to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true. Hope as a transitive verb is to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment or to expect with confidence.
For the basis of this topic, let's focus on the definition to desire or expect with confidence. For example, you may say something like "I hope you are doing well or I hope I get invited". In this subject, "I hope I am making the right choice," will be the most common thought.
In most hospice brochures about hospice myths you will see something like "Hospice is not about giving up; it’s about living in comfort and dignity for the time one has left." Let's really think about what this statement means.
What does comfort mean to you? What does it mean to your loved ones? Do you all have a different definition of comfort? OF COURSE YOU DO!! We are all different individual human beings. We all have our own hopes, dreams, desires, etc. This means that we all have a different perception of what comfort means and what dignity means. Some people want to be home surrounded by their families when they are at the end of life and some people don't want to be a "burden" to their families. Some people want to fight until the last breath.
What is great about all of these people is that they are all right in wanting what they want for their ending. That means that as a family, as a loved one making the decision to choose hospice, you are not giving up on them. You are not losing hope. You are not losing hope because your hope changes. The first hope is for a cure. The next hope is for comfort from symptoms related to an illness that does not have a cure. The next hope is for one more day to spend quality time free from pain and suffering. Then the last hope is for them to be at peace with the end of their journey we call life, and for them have a beautiful transition from this world.
My hope is that everyone reading this will understand that hospice is not about dying and giving up. Hospice is about living until you die and providing a quality of life that brings hope back from a life altering illness. Hospice is about managing any symptom related to that illness so that the person suffering can have more out of what life they have left to live.
When Dame Cicely Saunders said "You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die. Suffering is only intolerable when nobody cares;" she was describing hope at the end of life.
I hope that you choose hospice as an option for your end of life care because you know that even in the hardest part of life, there is still hope.
With Love,
Angela Cross
According to Webster Dictionary the definition of hope is as an intransitive verb is to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true. Hope as a transitive verb is to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment or to expect with confidence.
For the basis of this topic, let's focus on the definition to desire or expect with confidence. For example, you may say something like "I hope you are doing well or I hope I get invited". In this subject, "I hope I am making the right choice," will be the most common thought.
In most hospice brochures about hospice myths you will see something like "Hospice is not about giving up; it’s about living in comfort and dignity for the time one has left." Let's really think about what this statement means.
What does comfort mean to you? What does it mean to your loved ones? Do you all have a different definition of comfort? OF COURSE YOU DO!! We are all different individual human beings. We all have our own hopes, dreams, desires, etc. This means that we all have a different perception of what comfort means and what dignity means. Some people want to be home surrounded by their families when they are at the end of life and some people don't want to be a "burden" to their families. Some people want to fight until the last breath.
What is great about all of these people is that they are all right in wanting what they want for their ending. That means that as a family, as a loved one making the decision to choose hospice, you are not giving up on them. You are not losing hope. You are not losing hope because your hope changes. The first hope is for a cure. The next hope is for comfort from symptoms related to an illness that does not have a cure. The next hope is for one more day to spend quality time free from pain and suffering. Then the last hope is for them to be at peace with the end of their journey we call life, and for them have a beautiful transition from this world.
My hope is that everyone reading this will understand that hospice is not about dying and giving up. Hospice is about living until you die and providing a quality of life that brings hope back from a life altering illness. Hospice is about managing any symptom related to that illness so that the person suffering can have more out of what life they have left to live.
When Dame Cicely Saunders said "You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die. Suffering is only intolerable when nobody cares;" she was describing hope at the end of life.
I hope that you choose hospice as an option for your end of life care because you know that even in the hardest part of life, there is still hope.
With Love,
Angela Cross
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