At the beginning of January, my wife was diagnosed with lung cancer. The treatment by the family medicine group and the Pierre-Boucher hospital was very quick and very efficient. Examinations and treatments followed one another at the rate of two or three per week for six weeks. Unfortunately, it was already too late: the cancer was incurable. And, to make matters worse, my wife suffered a stroke on February 20 that left her paralyzed on her left side, despite the fact that treatment had started on time and that no effort had been spared.
Once the treatment in the hospital was over, we were offered an alternative: comfort care in an acute care unit or returning home to receive the same care, by family and members of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est home care team. We accepted with enthusiasm and did not regret it for a second.
My wife was able to spend her last seven weeks in the comfort and tranquility of her room, surrounded by members of her family. Comfort treatments, then palliative treatments, spared him suffering and anguish; she lived this period very serenely, conscious until the very end. Less than half an hour before her heart gave out, she smiled faintly upon receiving her final treatment. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Can we know a more serene and more human end? And, for loved ones, can you experience your mourning in a more gentle way?
This outcome was a win-win situation for her and for the whole family. She was happy to be cared for by those she loved. The whole family was happy to be able to make the end sweeter for him. The whole family is now more united than ever. Relatives were also happy to see his serenity and his satisfaction in living the last hours without fear, without anguish or unnecessary suffering.
The health network emerged as the big winner from this situation. The CLSC provided the support of the nursing staff and lent the specialized equipment. We provided housing, food, and labor for other care, including day and night supervision. Who says better ?
Of course, not all end-of-life cases can be treated at home and families do not bring together all the necessary resources. But, when the conditions are met, what savings for the network and what happiness for the families!
We are privileged to have such a competent and efficient healthcare network. Despite a glaring lack of resources, our healthcare professionals perform small and even big miracles every day. Strongly that we generalize the creation of home care teams, in order to save precious resources for the sick who must be treated in institutions and at the same time make the happiness of the patients who can lie down quietly at home, for their greatest happiness and that of their families?