When someone close to you tells you that they’ve been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, you may feel the world come to a complete stop. Without warning, you and your loved one’s lives have changed, and you don’t know how to take the next step.
After receiving such life-altering news, it’s natural to feel this way. To say that it’s a challenge to find out that someone you love has a critical condition is a massive understatement. However, once the news begins to settle in and you’re able to see and think a bit clearer, there are crucial decisions that you and your loved one will have to make. And one of those decisions is navigating a healthcare plan.
While your lives may feel a little different than they once did, living with a life-limiting disease doesn’t mean anyone has to stop living. Did you know that more and more people choose to receive healthcare at home to treat illnesses and other side effects of ageing? Receiving healthcare and support at home means that your loved one will live comfortably and independently.
Let’s take a look at two essential benefits of at-home care.
One-on-One Support
When it comes to healthcare, there’s nothing quite like receiving one-on-one support from professional healthcare workers, particularly if you or someone you love is living with a life-limiting disease. It’s difficult for nurses and caregivers working in hospitals and long-term care homes to find the time to devote to their patients because many of these institutions are overcrowded. Sadly, nurses and caregivers are often overworked.
But with home healthcare, your loved one will receive personalized care from a team of professional caregivers and nurses. Depending on what your loved one is looking for in a healthcare team, they could benefit from caregivers that provide anything from 24-7 support to weekly drop-ins. Over time, your loved one will start to look forward to visits from caregivers and develop meaningful relationships with them because of the regularity and intimacy of their time together.
Palliative Care
When your loved one receives a serious, life-limiting diagnosis, it’s time to consider how to make them feel as comfortable as possible. Find a healthcare agency that offers palliative care at home as part of their services. Palliative care is a type of healthcare focused on pain management for people living with life-limiting illnesses.
It’s an interdisciplinary approach to managing and mitigating the side effects of chronic disease and is used alongside your loved one’s other primary treatments, such as chemotherapy. Palliative care enhances the quality of life for its patients with 24-hour supervision, prescription medication management, and emotional support, all conducted in the familiarity of home. Furthermore, some agencies offer at-home specialized services with their healthcare plans, such as massage therapy and physiotherapy as a pain management tool.
If someone you love requires professional healthcare, consider the benefits of receiving it right in the place they love best, in the joyful surroundings of home. After all, there’s no place like it.
