Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Choosing a Nursing Home for a Loved One

Coping with a Most Dreaded DecisionYour loved one has reached the dreaded "point of no return." He or she has reached a point in his or her disease process where they can no longer care for themselves. In some cases, the person has been adjudged a danger to themselves and others. The condition of the patient has gotten
?to a point where the caregiver himself or herself can no longer manage the patient. There was a situtation of that sort in the Koolbreeze household. When Dad came down with the colon cancer that rapidly spreaded throughout his body, and had at this time hit his brain, my Mom and I could no longer care for him; he had clearly become a danger to himself and others. He had a colostomy bag, and a bag for his urine as well, for the tumours had also invaded his kidneys, disrupting their normal functions. But the key thing is, it had hit his brain. It had interfered with the part of his mind that had to do with normal reasoning. He became violent. He hated the fact that he was tubed down,and prevented from moving around like he used to. He was beginning to threaten to kill us if we didn't let him wander around out of bed all night, something that clearly could have caused him to do great injury to himself or someone else, as strong and hostile as he was. The situation got so bad that Mom and I had to cease treating him ourselves. In fact, the hospital, after examining him, along with the social worker that had worked with us, recommended nursing home care. It was clear that he was not going to get well, and the position of the cancer in the brain had rendered him not responsible for his actions, even if he was going to hurt the very people that loved him. So we made the painful decision I hope you who are reading will never have to make: we had him placed in a nursing home.Choosing a Nursing Home for a Loved OneOriginally from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2107741/choosing_a_nursing_home_for_a_loved.html


View this post on my blog: http://travelnursesuccess.com/choosing-a-nursing-home-for-a-loved-one

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