According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition
Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. Palliative care…affirms life and regards dying as a normal process…intends neither to hasten or postpone death…. [1]
Traditional palliative care provides assistance to the dying, without being overly concerned that one’s attempts to minimize distress may lead to an earlier death.… Read the rest
The experience of my daughter, Holly, dying recently has led me to think more about grief, Many well meaning people suggest that grieving is something needs to take place, to be allowed to run its course, and in some way we should not be to concerned or worried about redirecting it. Is this true? Can grief go wrong? As I observe the grieving of my family, I find myself asking, are they OK? Do they need help? What direction should be given? … Read the rest
Our daughter, Holly, has gone to be with the Lord.
Sitting at the bedside of a loved one during their last hours on this earth is often a very difficult experience. That your love one will no longer be present in this life is hard enough, but one often has to face, even with the use of calming/sedating medication, their loved one’s struggle. Often there is a struggle with breathing, like they are holding onto life for all it is worth.… Read the rest
One of the tenants of the Biblical Christian faith is that God is in control, that nothing happens by chance, that God has our days numbered. God is in control of the day of our death.[1] What effect does this way of thinking have on the approach to palliative care? What effect should it have?
Palliative care refers to the approach to a person who needs care and it is believed that they are approaching the end of their life on this earth.… Read the rest
Worldview and Ethical Issues from a Biblical Perspective
