Joyce Peak, RN
Hospice
Hospice patients deal with serious issues every day as they face the physical symptoms and the emotional battles of a terminal illness.
One patient had moved to the Bristol area when he retired because he loved the mountains and the beauty of East Tennessee. He never minded living alone, as long as his faithful dog was at his side.
When he was diagnosed with colon cancer, he dealt with his colostomy with surprising ease. He enjoyed the visits of the hospice nurses and bantered about his Yankee ways. With great pride, he would show the “girls” his little farm.
When he developed pleural effusions, he just moved a little slower to prevent breathlessness. It became obvious that his disease was advancing, and being alone was no longer safe. The patient’s son came from Ohio to take his father back with him and care for him in his last days. The little farmhouse would be sold.
My final visit had to be special. I spoke with the son and I came prepared with a character – Granny Grump. Secretly, I put on the old green dress costume and knocked on his door.
“Granny” told a few traveling jokes and anecdotes of old age. His laughter filled the little farmhouse. His son took a picture of us together. “Granny” wished him safe travels and “allowed as how she’d miss him sorely.”
The son sent me a copy of that picture and thanked me for helping make his dad’s last day on the farm a joyous one. Sometimes when I travel past that little house, I imagine that his laughter is still there.
I know it is still in my heart, because “Granny Grump” still remembers.