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In reply to the discussion: A Fitting Final Gift From Jimmy Carter [View all]NowISeetheLight
(3,943 posts)My Dad utilized Hospice of the Valley in AZ. He actually went in and out twice before finally passing. By that time, I was living in South Carolina and really appreciated the great care he received. Having worked in hospitals in Arizona prior, I was familiar with HoV. They kept me updated almost daily in his status and I still remember the morning in my office when they called and said he "passed peacefully in his sleep last night".
I remember one ICU patient with stage four lung cancer in the hospital I was working at. It had gone metastatic and was in her bones and liver. She was in her late 70s, and her sister absolutely refused to let her go. I'd sit in case management meetings and everyone was just livid. She lingered for months until the hospital ethics board had to get involved. She was trached and on a vent for months and was basically a vegetable. I always swore if I ever got that sick, I'd be moving to Oregon where they have assisted suicide. I have no intention of lingering if I can avoid it.