Placing Your Spouse in Hospice Care

Placing your spouse in hospice care can be a harrowing decision. While not all hospice patients are elderly, many are, and couples at this point have often been together for many decades. The prospect of living without the husband or wife you spent most of your life with can seem unimaginable. The team at Suncrest Home Health and Hospice of Austin has extensive experience counseling spouses, and we can help you through this difficult time.

The Realities of a Terminal Diagnosis

Whether it’s your husband or your wife that you are looking to place in hospice, it’s a difficult time. A terminal diagnosis is devastating, and it takes time to process and come to terms with.

At the same time, as the husband or wife of the patient, the caregiving may have fallen to you. And if you are dealing with your own health issues, the job may be more than you can manage. If any of your children live nearby, they might come to help from time to time, but they often have their own jobs and family responsibilities that keep them busy.

The Challenges of Caregiving

While you’re learning to cope with the mental fallout from the diagnosis and the physical work of caregiving, you also have to come to terms with learning how to take care of tasks that your spouse previously took care of. Maybe you’re learning to cook, do the laundry or pay the bills.

At this point, it’s easy to see how a caregiver can become exhausted and even resentful. What can make the situation even more difficult is that sometimes the patient is struggling with their own anger at their diagnosis and takes it out on their caregiver. Your spouse might become demanding and critical. It can get overwhelming.

If you feel like you’re coming to the end of your rope caring for your terminally ill spouse, call Suncrest Home Health and Hospice of Austin. We can talk to you about steps you can take to lighten your load.

Hospice Care in Austin

If you want to avoid placing your spouse in a facility, we can talk to you about hospice care at home. When you choose hospice care at home, you get regular visits from hospice nurses, home health aides and therapists as needed. We even have spiritual advisors as well.

Having the help you need relieves you of a huge burden and gives you some time back for yourself. It also allows you to spend more quality time with your spouse, which is easier when you aren’t exhausted.

To learn more about placing your spouse in hospice care at Suncrest Home Health and Hospice of Austin, contact us today.