Palliativ vård vid CMC Vellore

Palliativ vård på CMC
Vi har tidigare berättat om Ida B. Scudder hospice som öppnade i början av året. Där erbjuder man palliativ dygnet-runt-vård med ett holistiskt synsätt – fokus på hela människan inte endast som patient, utan också personens förmågor, vilja, hälsa, välbefinnande, sociala och kulturella sammanhang. Nedanstående berättelse illustrerar detta; hur man engagerar sig i de efterlevandes situation, ofta till stor tröst för den döende personen.

Kala lives in Vellore District with her three energetic boys. Last year, her 29-year-old husband, a daily wage labourer, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. CMC’s Department of Palliative Medicine looked after him, subsidising his care and medications. Kala was inconsolable when he passed away. She herself suffers from a seizure disorder. How would she support her children, look after her own health needs and repay loans her husband had taken? She moved forward bravely, selling their house and moving to her parents’ home. “I do not want to be an additional burden,” Kala decided, “I will find work and support my children”. Our Palliative Care team spent time engaging with Kala to find a livelihood option to suit her skills and help her become financially independent. Together they decided that she could rear a cow. There was grazing land at a water canal nearby and she could sell milk locally. A generous donation enabled the purchase of a brown cow. Kala’s little boys were especially excited. They are now doubly blessed as their cow gave birth to a calf last week!