Bringing Palliative Care to the Home
Mrs Abida Sultan was apparently well until December 2015, when investigations at a local hospital revealed some abnormalities in her blood and she was referred to a reputed hospital in Mumbai. For the next two months she underwent multiple investigations, shuttling between various hospitals and departments, without a clue as to what was wrong with her. At one point, she became very ill and was admitted into hospital for a couple of weeks. She had developed multiple pressure sores on her feet and lower back, and was in considerable pain. During this period, her husband lost his job and her family had to spend over two lakh rupees to cover the expenses, a very large sum for them, for which loans had to be taken. At this point, Abida decided to decline curative treatment and spare her family further needless expense. So she got herself discharged from the hospital and went home. A few weeks later she enrolled with PALCARE.
Her primary worry was for the future of her three young girls. But they showed their mother how capable they were by taking excellent care of her to the very end. Abida’s eldest daughter, 12 years old, was taught by our PALCARE team how to clean and dress her mother’s pressure sores. Symptom management was achieved with appropriate medications and ably monitored by the daughters. The pressure sores on the feet healed within a few weeks of our care. Abida passed away peacefully at her home on 6 May 2016. She was only 36 years old.
Chief Medical Officer
*Patients’ names, on this and following pages, have been changed to protect their identity.