-- Original Message --
Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 22:33:01 -0400
From: Tim Stowell <tstowell(a)chattanooga.net>
Subject: Re: [GAGEN] Death is a Part of Life
People die of other people's kindness?
Tim
-- Original Message --
Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 22:33:01 -0400
From: Tim Stowell <tstowell(a)chattanooga.net>
People die of other people's kindness?
Tim
Yes, Tim it happens.
"I didn't give him his medicine because he just didn't like the taste"
That's the saddest one.
As you know my husband had end stage renal disease and was on dialysis for
12 years before he was transplanted. I soon noticed that those patients
whose spouse catered to their every need and encouraged them to be ill by
discouraging them from doing anything didn't last very long.
The spouse was being kind.
However, the thing to do if you are in for a long haul illness is to keep
the patient as active as possible. When they won't let them go back to work
and/or they can't physically do what they used to, the really kind thing
to do is to find things they can do. Swap jobs around if you must. Encourage
them to take responsibility for their own care and keep mind and body as
active as possible. Keep their sense of worth alive.
I wrote an article on this back in the 70s when I was editing the Georgia
NAPHT newsletter (volunteer of course). If I can find it, I will send you
a copy. When my husband had the kidney failure, dialysis patients lived
an average of 15 months. My husband lived 12 years on dialysis then 11 more
years with his transplant. During that time he had a triple by-pass on his
heart and then a pacemaker. when he died, he died of colon cancer which
spread extremely fast due to the anti-immune medicine he took to keep from
rejecting the kidney.
My husband's quality of life stayed good and he lived to see the 1 month
old graduate high school and finish a couple of years of college. I still
miss all the things he did for me. He couldn't go back to work walking red
iron 90 feet in the air so we swapped around. He did everything he could
and I did the rest, but he was still a valuable contributing member of the
family.
As far as what happened to your friend which is really sad, the procedure
I worked out was:
1. When the doctor gives you a prescription listen to what he says it is
and what it is for
2. When you get it in your hand if you can't read it ask them to spell it
for you
3. When you hand it to the pharmacist say what it is for
4. Always get the warning sheet that comes with it and read the conflicts
5. Fill all your prescriptions at the same pharmacy if you can
6. If they give you medicine as samples or in an emergency room make sure
that gets on the pharmacist's list
7. Don't skip over-the-counter when you are listing what you are taking.
8. Remember that herbs, herbal teas etc. can conflict also
9. Remember that some foods shouldn't be taken with some medicines.
10. Don't be afraid to ask and/or question your doctor or pharmacist
Donna Parrish
CC for Dawson, Forsyth, Gordon, Hall and White