00:00Forced to think about how a loved one might die. Hospices are organizations
00:04that care for the dying. In 1988 Texas had only 24 hospices. Today we have more
00:10than 200. Two families who believe strongly in hospice care share their
00:15last moments together with us so that you might see how it works. To them this
00:20is about living well when there is but a little bit of life left.
00:26We've been married for 42 years. I love you. I love you. He always kisses me back.
00:40However tired the body and weary the soul, some simple reflexes remain.
00:47Some things never, you never lose, right? That's right.
00:52Robert Ashill will die in just three days from cancer. The question for his wife, how to spend his final
00:59weeks and now days.
01:01The focus of care changed from trying to get rid of the melanoma to trying to improve the quality of
01:08Robert's life
01:09during the final weeks of life. And that's what palliative care is all about.
01:13Hospices care for patients in the last six months of life. Conventional studies have shown that 20% of Medicare's
01:21budget goes to treat terminally ill patients.
01:24At a time when the emotional considerations are all too confusing, the financial ones are clear.
01:31Care in a traditional ICU unit can cost $6,000 a day. Hospice care ranges from one to $400 a
01:41day.
01:42Marilyn's greatest concern? Her husband's tremendous pain.
01:45He was in the hospital eight different times and he had tubes and IVs all over him, you know.
01:53Those have been replaced now with an intravenous pain pump filled with tranquilizers and pain medications.
01:59It is a particular interest to a young medical student whose own uncle died in the same hospice.
02:05When there's an indication that there's some breakthrough pain between the doses, is there something that you do to maybe
02:12give him a boost?
02:13Yes. There's a boost button here and, you know, Marilyn knows that anytime she wants, she can ask the nurses
02:21to give an extra dose of medication.
02:23And this gives him an extra hour's worth of this combination of agents.
02:28Marilyn checked her husband into hospice because she needed specialized help in caring for him, which has helped her.
02:35I'm sleeping at night. I was not sleeping at home and I was not sleeping in the hospital.
02:41Often, emotional barriers can keep families from signing up with hospice until literally the last moments.
02:48While we were talking to the family, the patients took their last breath.
02:53Here, Marilyn finds comfort in the quiet surroundings, her faith, and a chaplain's eve.
02:59This has been gradual. I mean, I've just been, it's like I've just been losing a little bit of him.
03:06You know?
03:07Right.
03:08I think, maybe I'm grieving while he's...
03:11Little by little?
03:12Uh-huh. Yeah. I mean, I haven't been bitter. You know, I've just been sad and I know I'm going
03:18to be lonely.
03:19Three chaplains are available to families here. They know about death and life and that fragile moment in between.
03:27I think you're that close almost to heaven's gates, as it were, of a person leaving or being received.
03:34As if you were going to reach out and touch heaven, or as it were.
03:42Robert's moment came the next day.
03:46Robert did pass away this afternoon at 2.15. Yes, it went very easily. His wife was at his side,
03:54as usual.
03:55And yes, it was real quiet and it was just very peaceful.
04:03About 10% of patients die in the hospice facility. Most choose to die at home.
04:09If you would like more information on hospice care, call 467-7423.
04:15Tomorrow, we will introduce you to another family who chose to say goodbye at home.
04:21In other news, a third of American adults are turning to hospice care.
04:27Available in the last six months of life.
04:30With Houston's oldest hospice group, 90% of the patients choose to spend their last days at home.
04:36Tonight, one family who generously shared those final moments with us, including their final anniversary together.
04:53This is our 50th anniversary. He came home on a furlough. And I was home from college. And we started
05:02dating men.
05:03Of course, he had his uniform on. He was quite dashing.
05:07But five decades later, a part of their lives will soon end.
05:11Robert Hudspeth is 74 years old and dying of Parkinson's disease.
05:16You get scared, you know, and you get sad, very sad.
05:25And being unable to communicate has made matters worse.
05:29There's nothing to share. That's the problem. There's no sharing of ideas.
05:35But other burdens can be shared by hospice home team visits.
05:41A nurse or health care aide visits daily. They bathe, clean and monitor patients and administer medications.
05:49It is a lifesaver for families who choose to say goodbye in the comfort, privacy and the familiarity of their
05:56own home.
05:57Just a really reward for him in a way that the loved one can die at home. I think it
06:04makes a big difference.
06:06Plus, hospice doctors still make house calls, generally once a month.
06:12In this case, it is much less expensive than intensive care at a hospital.
06:17Where a single day's stay can be in the thousands of dollars, which would cover several months of hospice care.
06:27Hi Julie. Welcome on in.
06:29And there is no dollar value to the weekly visits by social workers and volunteers.
06:34They give patients' families a chance to get out of the house for a few hours and someone with whom
06:40to talk.
06:41Come sit with me.
06:42Then there is home therapy. Robert's grandchildren draw pictures for him.
06:47And on this 50th anniversary, they have brought the party to him.
06:52Happy anniversary, Pop.
06:54Katie and Morgan's parents have explained, Pop is dying.
06:59And after that, what's going to help him?
07:00Go to heaven.
07:02And what will happen to Pop when he's in heaven?
07:05He's going to be able to do stuff he hasn't done right now.
07:11Live.
07:13Move and talk.
07:15With the remarkable strength of a child's trust, Morgan sings her grandfather's favorite song.
07:25Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
07:32Though muted by illness, his tears speak for him.
07:35I once was lost, but now I am found.
07:44He lived nearly six weeks past his 50th anniversary.
07:49How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
08:02He lived.
08:06Special thanks to the families who allowed us to share their stories with you.
08:10If you would like more information on hospice care, here's the number to call.
08:16467-7423.
08:18Hospice also makes financial sense.
08:20It costs one to $400 a day compared to the thousands of dollars a day it costs in a traditional
08:27hospital.
08:27And it can be entirely covered by Medicare.
08:31We will be back with weather and more in a minute.
08:34If you will find out that the community is also being covered by Medicare.
08:34If you have any more information on the landlord, the landlord will be better.
08:34And it's going to be the most important part.
08:35Perhaps a lot of customers will be available.
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