Hospice: The Last Responder

by Ellen J. Windham

Overview

It is my hope and prayer this book will teach, encourage, and empower you and your loved one. It is a journey that requires the knowledge in this book to understand what hospice services are available to help care for you as well as your loved one. It is a journey that will be one free from pain for as long as possible. One hour at a time, one minute at a time, one second at a time, each day at a time for the rest of your life on earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781512718577
Publisher:	WestBow Press
Publication date:	11/17/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	230
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Ellen Jane Windham is a nurse with an associate of science degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and science with certification in applied gerontology. She has more than fifteen years of experience at bedsides and has worked with thousands of patients on service with hospice who have completed their missions and made it home peacefully, surrounded by family and friends. She is now a patient with a terminal disease and on Hospice Care. The revision since her illness is to give you some idea of what I learned as a patient on Hospice Care. It is my hope and prayer that this book will encourage and empower patients and families as they take one minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time.

Editorial Reviews

2016-01-04
A layperson's guide to the end of life. Windham, a nurse who specializes in end-of-life care, provides a truly important, useful guide to the process of dying. It's highly accessible yet also detailed and comprehensive: "Families do not know and cannot be expected to know all about hospice," the author explains, and she attempts to fill that knowledge gap for the average family. On its face, this work is about hospice care as an institution, and it thoroughly covers issues from that angle, including how to choose such care and how to pay for it. However, the author also delves into a range of other subjects. On one end of the spectrum, she discusses emotional, family, and psychological issues related to death, including coping with grief, handling estrangement among family members, and understanding the role of intimacy. At the other end, she tackles such practical but confusing topics as legal paperwork and pain medications. The book's listing of pharmaceutical treatments for such ailments as coughs, diarrhea, and even hiccups is one example of how this clear, easy guide will be a real help to caregivers. The author urges families to seek out hospice assistance in order to improve the quality of life in a patient's final weeks: "Almost three-fourths of all terminally ill people die in hospitals alone and afraid," she notes, "unable to spend their remaining weeks and days in closeness with their spouse." Hospice, the author asserts, provides an alternative that decreases patient pain and anxiety and assists family members in beginning to grieve. Readers will also find that the author has a very spiritual view of her calling, but it never feels forced—it's simply part of her own story. Overall, Windham's approach to care is holistic and hands-on. A homey, candid, touching, empathic, and invaluable resource for those dealing with the specifics of a loved one's last days.

Kirkus Reviews