NAJAR: Hospice Care - Dignified care for the end-of-life

Conversations about death and dying seem to make most people uncomfortable. Yet how we prepare for this experience can make a world of difference, whether it is one of consolation or desolation. I discovered this with the loss of my own father, who, at age 63, mired in a state of depression, remorse and loneliness, resigned himself to death.
The final stage of our earthly journey towards eternal life is often not easy. Our Catholic tradition reassures us that we do not have to suffer alone.

As Catholic believers, we possess the grace and the spirit that comes from God to be able to attend to the dying with love and mercy, always trying to bring peace to both the person who will die and their loved ones. Jesus called on His beloved disciples to watch and pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Communion of Saints, living and deceased, is ready to accompany us with the angels through the process of dying into eternal life.

Suffering, in itself, is not redemptive. The Catholic Church is clear: Nobody should suffer unnecessarily; all patients deserve appropriate pain management and palliative care (CCC: 2279). When medical treatment options are no longer life-sustaining, or a person becomes weary of the wear and tear of such care, it presents an opportunity to talk with loved ones and a medical team regarding one’s care wishes. It also offers the chance to discuss hospice care, a type of palliative care.

Palliative therapy and education by the medical community can help us understand and respond with dignity to physical and emotional pain, as well as the final stages that accompany dying. Palliative care can help manage pain for those with chronic medical conditions such as cancer, Parkinson’s and other illnesses.

When a person no longer chooses life-sustaining treatments, hospice care teams consisting of medical providers, chaplains and social workers/therapists can offer a holistic approach to manage the physical symptoms of suffering, help ease anxiety, offer comfort, recall loving memories and provide a peaceful closure to life. In this way, hospice care can enhance a person’s quality of life. In addition, it can help their loved ones manage the grief process through various support services, including after the death of their loved one.

Hospice care can provide hope for those facing death by reinforcing the Church’s message that God has created each person for eternal life and that life is God’s precious gift.
God never abandons His children; He comforts and strengthens us in times of sadness and pain. Palliative and hospice care helps remove the stigma that death is terrifying, undesirable, or lonely, elevating the dignity of human life. Please consider hospice care as a viable means for your end-of-life transition into eternal glory.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away” (Rev 21:4). 

Olga Najar is an associate director in the Office of Aging Ministry.

(OSV News photo)