The end of your senior’s life is a complicated time. There are a great many physical signs she may exhibit when the end gets closer, but there are emotional signals, too.
Withdrawing or Appearing Unresponsive
As your elderly family member nears the end of her life, she may be sleeping more due to physical exhaustion. She’s also taking in far fewer calories than she used to take in, which leaves her with a lot less excess energy to expend. But withdrawing from you and other family members or appearing to be less responsive isn’t just a physical response. It’s also an emotional detachment. The best way to respond is to continue to be there with your senior in the ways that you can be and let her know you care about her.
Restlessness and Repetitive Behaviors
Repetitive actions and restlessness are also common for people nearing the ends of their lives, and this is both physical and emotional. It’s difficult to fully let go of the physical, and that’s part of what your senior is doing. It can help to find ways to distract your senior, with favorite shows or with gentle conversation.
Having Visions or “Visitations”
Very often people who are near the end of their life will mention that they’ve been visited by people who died years ago. Your senior may tell you about a conversation she had with this person or she may just describe what she saw. These visions are very common and there’s no way to disprove what your elderly family member is seeing and hearing. It’s much better to reaffirm what your senior is experiencing and comfort her if she seems nervous or afraid of these visions.
Saying Goodbye
It can be upsetting for your senior to start telling you goodbye, especially if you’re not ready for her to go. This is an important part of the process of letting go, particularly for your elderly family member. This is a way that she can say what she still has to say, whether what she wants to do is thank you, remind you that she loves you, or just make sure that she is able to say goodbye before she’s unable to do so.
Your elderly family member might experience some or all of these at some point. It can be daunting to know how to reply and what to do. Working with hospice care providers can help, because they’ve been there and they can help you to know what to do next while also ensuring that your senior is physically getting the care that she needs.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Hospice Care in and around Lewisville, TX please contact the caring staff at Arcy Healthcare today. 469-293-1515
My name is Jimmie Stapleton. I am the founder and CEO of Arcy Healthcare. Arcy Healthcare includes Arcy Hospice, Arcy Supportive Care, MaximaCare Home Health and Arcy at Home.
Arcy Hospice was opened in 2007 to provide care and support for individuals and families facing a life limiting illness. It was established after my wife Ellen, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, had completed her chemo and radiation therapies. At that time, things were looking positive, and we wanted to do something for our community that had been so supportive of our family during her treatments. Unfortunately, the cancer returned a few years later, and she subsequently passed away under our care in 2010.
In the years that followed, I began to see the need to provide the same level of excellent care to patients across the continuum of care. Therefore, we have added a home health division (MaximaCare Home Health), a palliative care division (Arcy Supportive Care), and a home care division, (Arcy at Home). With the addition of these divisions, we can meet most of the post-acute care needs for you and your family in your home.
I started Arcy Hospice with my wife as my motivation to provide exceptional care and support in the patient’s home, where they are surrounded by family and where they feel most comfortable. I’m proud to say that our staff provides some of the best in home care in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
Please let us know if we can enrich the quality of life for you or a loved one.
Sincerely,
Jimmie Stapleton – Founder and CEO
Arcy Healthcare
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