Home Page What is Hospice Who We Are Who Needs Us Services Offered Cost of Care Donate Volunteer Testimonials Photo Gallery Resources Contact Us	Jennifer, the Wings of Hope nurse, had tears in her eyes when she told us about her afternoon. "I was there for over four hours. The patient was finally settled down by the time I left, but it took a while." 'The patient' is Evelyn*, and she's dying from COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It's an especially cruel illness, providing a roller coaster of good days and bad. A good day is one when breathing is comfortable. A bad day is when Evelyn can't catch her breath. She starts to take quick, shallow breaths, and then anxiety sets in. The universe narrows to a single focus - 'can I breathe?' If she continues to have trouble, her body automatically goes into panic mode because she's not getting enough oxygen. Her breathing turns to gasping and terror is evident on her face. It's not much better for the family members witnessing an episode of difficulty breathing. The person they love can't catch their breath and without the treatments that Wings of Hope can provide, there is extremely little one can do except watch and feel completely helpless. "I'm sure she won't last much longer," Jennifer said. "Her family is all coming in to say goodbye." But Evelyn has given her family this scare many times in the past. The cruelty of COPD is that on the good days one can almost forget that Mom is very sick. As long as Evelyn doesn't exert herself too strenuously, she can prop herself up on her couch and watch TV, talk with her children, pet her dog. But on a bad day, death seems minutes away. Sometimes it is - sometimes it isn't. We just don't know until it actually happens. "I helped the family give her the right medications. It took a while, but she was resting easy by the time I left," Jennifer continued. Jennifer listed the massive amounts of each medication she gave. A well person wouldn't have been able to tolerate it. That Evelyn needed so much spoke to how sick, and how close to death, she really was. Before Evelyn became a Wings of Hope patient, her family would call 911 every time she had a bad breathing episode. Every time, she would be put into the ambulance and rushed to the hospital. The heroic measures exhausted her, and after a time, she decided she didn't want to do it that way anymore. When she learned that Wings could help her family care for her in her home and that even an episode where she couldn't catch her breath could be treated at home, she asked for Wings' help. Wings staff came to Evelyn's home every time a breathing emergency occurred, and every time, Evelyn recovered to the point where she had good days again. This time seemed especially bad though, and Jennifer was sure it was the end. "This was the worst," she said. "But the family seems OK with it. They understand that she could be very close, and they know what to do to take care of her." The next day Evelyn's breathing slowed. Her family gathered around her bed. She hadn't responded to any of them for several hours. Each time there was a pause in her breathing, her children held their collective breath, exhaling only when she inhaled. They held her hand and told her it was OK to go. Her breaths were only 3-4 per minute. Finally, her breathing paused and she didn't inhale again. The family was very quiet for several minutes. Then her daughter kissed her once more and they passed around a box of tissues. There was a mixture of disbelief that it finally happened and relief because she was no longer suffering. They called Wings of Hope and a nurse came to help them through the next phase. Evelyn died exactly the way she wanted to: comfortably, in her own home, surrounded by people who love her. *The patient's name is changed to protect her privacy.
Wings of Hope Hospice | 530 Linn Street, Allegan, Michigan 49010 | 269-686-8659 | 800-796-2676 | Email
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