Tag Archives: Support

Palace of Care – Making the Appointment

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Wilhelm Gunkel on Unsplash

Hey, how you doing?

Good. You?

Good thanks. I need to tell you about my patient. They’re very unwell, I think they might only have days left to live.

Right, the cancer effect?

Yeah, it’s causing liver failure and has made them confused. I’m not sure if they’ll be able to talk to you clearly. I think they won’t live long enough to make it through the assessment process. I don’t want to waste your time.

It won’t be a waste of time if being seen is important to them.

They have been so keen to be assessed for assisted dying. I think they’ll still benefit from being seen by you. They will feel understood and that their request has been responded to.

Yeah, it’s still worth it. I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon to see them.

Great, I look forward to catching up with you.

Palace of Care – GPS

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Brecht Denil on Unsplash

You are the driver, not me.

You’re in charge.

I’m just here to help you.

Think of me as your GPS.

I’m here to guide you.

To try to make your journey as smooth as possible.

I’m going to show you what is up ahead of you.

I’ll do my best to anticipate the dangers or obstacles to come.

I’m going to present you with options.

I will make my recommendations but it is up to you which path you want to take.

I will listen to you, so please tell me what you want, what you need.

I will help you get through this journey, and your family too.

You’re the driver.

It’s all about you, not me.

Guest Post – Naomi’s Notes – Cushion

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash

They met at a seven-year meditation/philosophy course, which required participants to travel to India each year for the 1st week in April for instruction. It was taught by  H E Tai Situ Rinpoche one of the great Meditation Masters.

The seating was cushioning on the floor, he sat in front of her.  He was from Germany with limited English and she was from New Zealand (NZ) with limited German but they were able to communicate.   They formed a group with the Spanish man that sat next to him and the Taiwanese woman that sat next to her.  The group exchanged email addresses and from time to time corresponded. When in India they would all have breakfast together.

After year three of the course, he wrote to say he had to drop out of the course as his 88-year-old mother was sick and he needed to care for her.  He wrote about his newly acquired knowledge in gynaecology, breast cancer, podiatry, and dentistry gained from having accompanied his mother to all of her appointments.

She wrote back and gave him some moral support.   She also sent a gift from the NZ sheep, woollen socks for both his mother and him. 

Continue reading →

Guest Post – Naomi’s Notes – Contribution

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Jarritos Mexican Soda on Unsplash

When we are born we come with nothing and we go with nothing. In between we try to make a contribution to our family, community and the world around us.

The transition to becoming a caregiver is difficult, the biggest challenge is going from having lots of time for yourself and an ability to make plans, to having no time.  Much like a mother I guess. I was given a ringside seat into old age and death.  Watching the decline, you are forced to confront the mortality of your loved one as well as your own.

High dependency needs mean that no matter how much you love the one you are caring for you get very tired.  The forced isolation can be lonely for a lot of people. My experience wasn’t so much the loneliness but more the loss of “me” time.  Early in the caregiving role when I was able to go out for a couple of hours I would joke with my friends that my visa was up and I had to get home before my visa was cancelled.

Continue reading →

Palace of Care – Parallel Lives

Posted on by
Reply

image

Cape Reinga the northern-most tip of New Zealand, where the spirits of Maori depart on their final journeys. Photo by Gadfium.

The first time I met the young ladies I had been cross-covering at the hospital, and was taken to see each of them as they both had severe pain and discomfort. They came from completely different backgrounds, had lived completely different lives but somehow ended up on the same journey.

About a week or so later they had both been admitted into our inpatient unit for pain control. Adjustments were made and they became more comfortable, but a few days later pain had returned again, as well as other problems. We had to aim at constantly moving targets, and so it would be over the next three months of their individual roller-coaster rides.

The similarities were startling; the same diagnosis, the same poor response to treatment, and in the end the same prognosis. What was completely different was their individual experiences of the same outcome. Continue reading →

New fellow survey

Posted on by
1

Fellowship6363

(Image via wikipedia)

Are you a “new fellow”? Have you recently qualified (or about to qualify) as a palliative medicine specialist (FAChPM +/- FRACP)?

Transitioning from advanced training to consultant-hood can be a challenging time in one’s career. Help us understand how best to support you by completing this brief and anonymous survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NZ97VVL

Thank you!