Sad
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

What did you say to an ailing family member in hospice?

I tried today to think of the right things to say to my dad .he's been in hospice two days and is already declining. He spoke to me, but barely. Kept falling back to sleep..the cancer is aggressive. It was painstaking but I wanted to visit and be next to him. He yelled at me three times about no food or water. He's not had any drink in a whole day. I don't understand why hospice wasn't there on a Sunday to try to make him drink occasionally.

But I told him at the end of the visit when he looked at me a whole minute, that he was a trooper during this trying time and that I'd always be with him and he'd always be with me. I didn't know what else to say. I meant it fully. I didn't bring up Heaven. But he then replied as I was leaving , Be careful, love you. 😢
When I got to my car I was sobbing.

That could be the last time he talks to me.Im grateful he said it. I'm going tomorrow too and hope to talk a bit more but each day he's slightly worse. What did you say to a hospice patient?
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Zaphod42 · 51-55, M
Just be there. Your presence means the world to them. I visited my dad every day while he was in hospice for as long as he could take…the first few days he would tell me he needed to rest after 30 minutes of visiting, and the last day he was barely there, slipping in and out of consciousness. After 10 minutes or so I told him I was just let him sleep, and told him I loved him and I’d see him tomorrow.
There was no tomorrow.