When CPR is needed, there’s no time to wait for professionals

When CPR is needed, there’s no time to wait for professionals
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I really didn’t want to learn CPR. I always thought there would be someone more knowledgeable around if the need ever arose, and if I learned it I might be obliged to resuscitate someone.

 

I was disabused of that belief several years ago when I was attending a CPR and first-aid training session for employees of Senior Concerns in Thousand Oaks. Such training is mandatory because Senior Concerns is a licensed adult day care facility.

Our teacher asked us, “Who is the best person to perform CPR in an emergency?”

Being the Type A personality that I am, I immediately raised my hand and replied, “A doctor or a nurse.”

“Wrong,” the teacher said. “The best person to perform CPR in an emergency is you.”

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When a loved one is on hospice, how does one prepare for the inevitable?

When a loved one is on hospice, how does one prepare for the inevitable?
It’s 2018 and I know I’ll have many great things to celebrate in the new year. However, I am fairly certain my father will not be around to celebrate 2019.

 

You see, my father’s been on hospice for six months.

I’m aware that the amount of time he has been on hospice is not directly related to the timing of his death. I keep reminding myself Art Buchwald lived for over a year after his initial hospice placement and wrote a book during that time.

It’s the other things that have been happening.

My father has lost his ability to stand or even move himself in bed. He’s incontinent. He sleeps almost all day long, and when he wakes, he is groggy and his eyes are closed.

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