Quality of Life

To cap off my time in Charleston, I had to complete a Case Study on a patient of my choosing. I ended up choosing a patient that was just recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I had the opportunity to meet with the patient and the patient’s family multiple times. Each day for entire week I went to visit this patient and each time I saw him his health was declining. However, his personality was always very lively. Because of his diagnoses he had a very decreased appetite. As a dietetic intern I am able to suggest supplements but he did not like the taste of any of them. The last day I saw this patient the MD consulted for any type of nutrition intervention. His prognosis did not look good. So I went and talked with the patient and he wanted milkshakes and chicken noodle soup for every meal. I was a little puzzled but I thought if he’ll eat it then why not. He just needed calories at that point. It was very rewarding to develop such a strong relationship with a patient. Unfortunately, the day after I put in the order for the milkshakes and chicken noodle soup, the patient was headed to a Hospice center. If you know anything about Hospice you know what a hard decision it is to make. It comes down to the quality of life of a person and no so much on the quantity.
Right before I headed down to Charleston, I actually experienced this with my one and only Grandpa. He had been on dialysis for about four years and he reached the point where he did not want to go anymore. A few days before he made this decision, he asked me if I would blame him. I never thought that I would be having a that type of conversation but of course I said I would not blame him and respected his decision. He had fought long and hard. He went three days a week, four hours each time to have his blood dialyzed just to spend a few more days with his family. For an 85 year old man to be able to do that, I would say he was one tough cookie.  Quality over Quantity.