| What Questions Should I Ask the Doctor? |
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ARTICLE SUMMARY End of life care requires we meet with our doctors on a regular basis and establish a good working relationship with them. We need to ask them clear, specific questions so that we get a clear understanding of what lies before us and our dying loved one. Questions to ask your doctor:
If you or your loved one cannot get answers from your physician or do not feel comfortable, search for the doctor that can provide you what you need. Once you gain more understanding of end of life care issues, you can decide what steps should be taken next. There may be doubts, may be second-guessing, but you need a general sense of what you can expect. Take advice, do your research, pray, and then make the best decision you can under the circumstances. Dying people live lives so drastically altered that it is not possible to go on as usual. If you can find the faith, turn to prayer. Consult with your physicians to help deal with end of life issues. In summary: Seek many counselors and pray for guidance. What questions should I ask the doctor? FULL ARTICLE End-of-life care requires that we meet with our doctors on a regular basis and establish a good working relationship with them. We need to ask them clear, specific questions so that we get a clear understanding of what lies before us and our dying loved one. Questions to ask your doctor on end-of-life issues: What is the longest amount of time that I could reasonably hope for? What is the shortest that my family should be prepared for? What will be the progression of this illness at the end of life? What symptoms will occur, and what complications arise? What treatments help? What will it be like to undergo these treatments? These questions also may lead to other questions. Be prepared to discuss symptoms your dying loved one is experiencing, and take notes. Once you gain clear understanding of end of life care, or rather a better understanding, you are then able to decide what steps should be taken next. You may never be perfectly clear on what to do. There may be doubts, may be second-guessing. But you do need a general sense of what you can expect. Take advice, do your research, pray, and then make the best decision you can under the circumstances, for the treatment plan, for spending time with family, for planning events. Control seems lost when we are faced with the end of life. All our lives we are accustomed to taking control, and now control has been taken from us. Trust must now replace control – trust in the Lord that He will lead us to the paths he desires us to tread. In the Bible, Esther 4:11-16 reveals how Esther placed her life into God’s hands, in order to save her people. She turned control over completely, and was rewarded. Dying people live lives so drastically altered that it is not possible to go on as usual. If you can find the faith, turn to prayer. Consult with your physicians to help deal with end-of-life care issues. It is thru prayer, consultation with your doctor and friends, and your own research, you enable yourself to get the best advice possible, so that your decisions are right for you and your loved one. Seek many counselors and pray for guidance. |