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St. Peter's Hospice 2020-10-04 Person 5 5 0

My therapist was Pippa Ford. She was calm, kind, and listened attentively. She unravelled helplessness, sadness, loss, grief, fear, loneliness, confusion and lots of other emotions that accompany watching a parent die a slow, painful death. At the end of eight sessions, I was able to view my personal situation in a calmer frame of mind, and feeling that I can manage at least for the short term. I was able to get past the loss, and see the positives about the departed. Providing hospice at home care for a terminally sick parent is a harrowing experience, and nothing prepares you for it other than previous experience. I learnt the term cachexia from Joel on the hospice hotline. Looking back, you need someone with clinical directness with a mixture of compassion and empathy to help carers through a difficult time. Some days I didn't know where to turn, and being able to speak to someone at the end of the telephone really helped. Joel was great and he called every day to check on me. Simply knowing that some deaths are painful and lingering, was already helpful. I needed to know my parent wasn't singled out, or suffered unnecessarily. I wanted to speak to someone such as a nurse, who had witnessed death to know what was "normal", but that wasn't possible during lockdown. I don't think I would have managed emotionally without the support of St Peters. Thank you St Peters.