Qualifying for Hospice Care through Medicare

It has been awhile since I posted. Life has continued on and taking care of my mom and my family has just become so routine that I haven't had much to say. That being said, however, daily life is still an adventure.

We finally arrived at the point that we qualified for hospice care paid by medicare. I called the hospice agency when I was convinced that my mom was in her last days. They were so helpful getting things set up and were, quite honestly, a godsend. My mom rebounded ie. didn't pass away, but the team was in place and we set it up so that I would have help getting her bathed and dressed 3 days a week. Most comforting to me was that I finally had a support team for when the end does come. One of my worries has long been having to call the ambulance, who may or may not, listen to our end of life decisions, and then proceed into a hectic end rather than a peaceful passing with people who know and understand the situation.

My mom doesn't recognize anyone as far as I can tell. Sometimes she will give a greeting of recognition but then she gives that same greeting to complete strangers. I wish all the time that I knew what, if anything, is going on her mind.

The largest measure of her decline in the last 4 months has been weight loss. Regardless of regularly eating, she continues to lose weight. She is barely 100 pounds. She is skeletal. That is one of the most difficult things for me to watch because I am in charge of feeding her. I struggle, all the time, asking myself if there isn't more I could do to prevent her from wasting away. The hospice nurses assure me that it is part of the process, but that is one part that is painful for me to watch. (ok--all of them are painful to watch, but not all of them can be linked to something that I am solely in charge of, such as feeding her.) I can be pretty hard on myself when it comes to accepting that I am doing all that I can/should be doing.

Here is a link to the medicare hospice page. http://www.medicare.gov/coverage/hospice-and-respite-care.html