Staff

The Hard Conversations

Choosing a hospice provider — what to look for

The decision to enroll in hospice is often made in crisis. Your mother is declining rapidly, the doctor says she has days or weeks, and suddenly you're being asked to choose a hospice provider. You're exhausted.

The Hard Conversations

Hospice and pain management — the promise of comfort

One of the first things families ask about hospice is this: will they be in pain? The fear is real and specific. You imagine your mother suffering at the end of her life, and you can't bear it. You've heard stories.

The Hard Conversations

Hospice for heart failure patients — the cardiac trajectory

Your father sits down to tie his shoes and has to stop halfway through because he's out of breath. He's been diagnosed with heart failure, and he's been managing it for years with medications, restrictions, careful...

The Hard Conversations

Hospice for dementia patients — the unique path

With most illnesses, the path to hospice is relatively clear. A cancer patient progresses through treatment into late stages.

The Hard Conversations

Revoking hospice — when they get better or change their mind

The phone rings. Your mother's nurse says something unexpected: she's improving. She's eating more. Her breathing is easier. The fatigue that seemed permanent has lifted, at least for now.

The Hard Conversations

Continuous care and crisis care — hospice at its most intensive

Most of the time, hospice is a few visits a week or a nurse coming once a week to check in, adjust medications, and make sure your parent is comfortable. But sometimes the situation becomes urgent.

The Hard Conversations

Hospice and Medicare — how the benefit works financially

One of the great mercies of hospice is that when your parent is eligible for Medicare hospice benefits, the financial burden changes.

The Hard Conversations

When they die — what happens immediately after

The moments after someone dies are strange. The body is still warm. Your parent still looks like your parent. But something has completely changed.

The Hard Conversations

Being present at the end — what it's like to be in the room

Being in the room when someone dies is something your body doesn't forget. The air tastes different. Time works differently. Fear and peace coexist in a way they shouldn't be able to.

The Hard Conversations

Signs that death is near — the changes that tell you

You need to know what's coming so that when it comes, you're not blindsided. The hospice nurse will give you signs to watch for, but it helps to read them beforehand, to let them settle into your mind so that when...

The Hard Conversations

The final days — what to expect physically

The body changes in the final days in ways that can be shocking if you don't know what to expect. Breathing becomes irregular. Your parent barely moves. Hours or days stretch out. Time becomes strange.

The Hard Conversations

Medications during hospice — comfort care explained

The medications your parent takes during hospice are different from the medications they took before. That shift can be disorienting. Where are the blood pressure pills?