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Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

In our government "hospice", there are about a dozen "independent" units. No on-site staff, no residents common rooms. Each of our areas is like a normal two bedroomed unit, with wall alarms, linked to outside sirens & flashing lights.
As we get closer to death, our life support services increase daily, weekly & monthly, with many specialists & contractors keeping us out of the nursing home, etc.

We watch & hear each of us getting old & frail. We chat, phone each other, etc as we each get older & more frail. Anyone else have this lifestyle also?

Some of us need & use face-to-face counsellors, phone counsellors, etc. In my case, Lifeline, Beyond Blue, Mens Line, etc. We generally have increasing amounts of medical andsupport services, in the years that we live here. It is interesting to me, comparing my way of coping, with the many people around me, and others I know. Geriatric stuff is not fashionable, nor nice. Interesting living this out, now, so consciously.

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In response to: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Re: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...


@Maggie wrote:

@CyberTrekker @gggg I’m following the conversation.

A forum tip. The @brings a dropdown. That is how we tag each other. It lets us know you have posted , and who you are talking to in your post. It helps us reply to you.

I too am familiar with Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Take care today.


Thanks. This should ideally be done automatically when hitting the replybutton to the individual comment, rather than manually by hitting the quote button or indeed manually by typing it in for the quick reply.

In response to: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Re: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

As the creator of this thread, my "apologies" for being away for a month.

A few emergency ambulance rides to our local hospital, plus several repeats of brain, heart & blood scans.

The usual business of hospice life.

Again many conversations with BEYOND BLUE, LIFELINE, and sometimes MENS LINE.

Using Australian NARRATIVE THERAPY, via phone, and also here in this forum, I have since become aware that SYSTEMIC factors are creating our moods and emotions.

As explained earlier, I worked in junior (hand on) social work: 1972 - 1979. Then became promoted "upwards" away from direct vlient work thereafter, with further supplementary training; mostly informal & experiential.

Generally these human service industries (think & emotions, rather than biochemistry & brain waashing) are not regarded much at all. These advanced human industries (COUNSELLING, GROUP WORK, HUMAN RESOURCE ADMINISTRATION) have extremely weak scientific foundations.

In my new hospice lifestyle, I must now prepare for the time that my academic skills, insights, etc -- must soon rely extremely limiting ability to interact with you and the rest of the planet. This is all very normal, all very predictable, as usual.

Usual problems: emergency alarms are "permanently" attached to my body now. Version Three is needed: no conscious triggering, but linked directly to my oximeter, full time, and my fall-meters.

Plus auto-entry to where I am most of the time, in bed, with the necessary authorizations to approved visitors, 24/7.

Luckily the Category 4 Aged Care Assessment is keeping my body alive. The biochemistry wants my body to drop dead. The God-Fighters (medical & paramedical types) are still trying to outwit the God(s).

If I get dementia, I expect like other depressed people, to believe the "Higher Powers" to dominate this biochemical war.

In response to: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Re: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Been to hospital (ambulance) since I last posted.
In my early years of my married life, my very religious wife, in the first five years, tried to find a Christian religion, to aassist my better position in Heaven, when I died.
Being just another hands-on social worker at Sydney's Wayside Chapel, I followed my "carer" wife, submitting myself as her project, the medically needy caree.
Being a standard caree, needing religion, etc is also necessary, at times & places.

In response to: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Re: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

> "@CyberTrekker @gggg I’m following the conversation.



A forum tip. The @brings a dropdown. That is how we tag each other. It lets us know you have posted , and who you are talking to in your post. It helps us reply to you."

Opps... Sorry on this. You are correct. This is standard internet forum stuff. I bforgot about it.
So here right now, I did another alternative. "Intelligent" setups allow automatic insertion of previous messages, which then can be editted to reduce waste space ...

In response to: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Re: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

@ TideIsTurning

"Peer Support Worker".

Not sure of your qualifications & experience. My background: senior social worker, asnd an Acredditation Surveyor (1984) at the time of my car accident, which gabe me severe TBI.

In my Aged Care Funding, Level 4, I am currently using professional counselling, one hour, every two weeks. My burnout main carer (wife) drives us there, a few suburbs away. As I become medically damaged more so, this will become weekly, then via Skype, etc.

My motorized nursing bed is increasingly being automated to support my decaying body. Eventually my wheelchairs and nursing beds will need to be changed, to fimy depleted life abilities.

All this is very normal, and expected.

In the meantime, because of the politics of our Wikipedia edits, etc, we senior staff members have more urgent matters to try to affect.

In my current hospice, created by the local government, we now have another standard "suicide" client, addicted to junk chemicals as most of them are (pure sugars, nicotine, alcohol, medical prescriptions, and other non-medical magic).

The geriatric industries are now unable to cope with the forthcoming changes. So much of my academic effort is continuing in the scientific foundations of these industries, the COGNITIVE SCIENCES.

Trialling very soon, the newest Samsung tablet, with swipe & voice input. So my productivity might soon be improving.

In response to: Re: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

Re: Living in HOSPICE ... For such a long time now ...

@gggg @CyberTrekker I really have no words that I feel would be of any comfort. Life sounds incredibly hard.

I’m sitting with you, something I have found helpful when it’s beyond words. Sending 💙💙💙

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