Making the right decisions for your aging family member, especially at the end of her life, can feel far more difficult than you expect. You might even find that you second guess your decisions or feel guilty about doing what might be the wrong thing down the line.

It’s Possible to Wait Too Long

When you, your senior, and other family members are trying to make the right decisions, it isn’t uncommon at all for the decision to get put off longer and longer. In the case of hospice elder care, this can mean that services that might be incredibly beneficial to your senior, such as symptom management, aren’t in place for your senior. That can leave her frustrated, in pain, or uncomfortable when she really doesn’t have to be.

Taking Action Isn’t a Bad Idea

Hospice services are usually recommended when your senior has a terminal illness. But there aren’t guarantees. Hospice elder care can help your family member to feel far better than she thought she might. She may even get to the point where she feels well enough to discontinue hospice care. It’s always something that she can revisit later if her symptoms worsen and you’ve taken action that helps her.

Assess How Your Senior Is Feeling

The most important aspect of making decisions about this type of care is determining how your senior is feeling. If she’s in pain, that’s something that hospice elder care can help her to manage. Curative therapies and treatments often take quite a toll on the person who is battling a terminal illness. Taking a different path, even for a little while, can be incredibly beneficial.

How Do You Know it’s Really Time?

The best way to know that it’s really time to bring in hospice services for your senior is to talk with her about what she wants her care to look like. From there, work with her doctor and other medical providers to determine what hospice can do for your senior and how it fits in with her health care wishes. There’s no right or wrong answer, so take that pressure off yourself.

There’s no reason for you to let yourself experience feelings of guilt around setting up hospice care for your family member. This type of care is all about helping her to feel comfortable and to experience the best symptom relief she can experience at the end of her life.

If you or a loved-one have questions about Hospice Care in Freehold, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Serenity Hospice. Call today, we can help:  (609)-227-2400