In the world of elder care, there is no more emotional word than "hospice.
" That is because many people hear the word, and they think it means "we are giving up.
We have no hope.
We have no more faith.
" But hospice care means none of these things.
Hospice care has become a popular choice for many people facing death in recent years.
It is sometimes called "end of life care" because the medical staff no longer try to cure whatever disease is healing the patient.
Instead, they focus on making the patient comfortable and as pain free as possible.
At the same time, they help care for the patient's emotional and spiritual state.
If the patient does pass away, the hospice chaplains are available for grief counseling as well.
If doctors have told a patient "there's nothing else we can do, and we suggest hospice care," they are certainly admitting that death is probably near.
To a person of religious faith, however, this type of pronouncement can come across as unintentionally offensive.
To agree with that type of prognosis, for many, would signal a complete bankruptcy in faith.
Because they believe in a God that can heal any ailment, they choose to keep fighting.
As a religious person, I can sympathise with this feeling.
However, it is a misleading sensation.
If a person believes that God can reach down into a hospital bed and correct ailments, there is no reason to think He cannot also reach down and do the same thing for a senior living in hospice care.
Choosing hospice care doesn't mean you're giving up on God, just medicine.
Because medicine has its limits.
The choice, then, can be a loving one for any person, including people of faith.
After all, if the treatments are both harmful and ineffective, it is a loving thing to remove a patient from those treatments and into an environment where they are comfortable, surrounded by friends and family.