First off, why am I bringing this up? Because the healthcare industry as a whole, in my mind, has turned into solely a money making entity and nothing more. Probably has been for years, but my eyes have been opened fully. Health 'care'? BS. They are all sold out with Big Pharma. For the record, I was completely understanding that hospice care is there to see you to the end, and not to cure you. Totally get that. What I didn't know (until I saw it first hand) is that they also expedite the dying process (at least in this case). Let me explain. My mother-in-law, age 85, came to live with us back in mid-April. She was weak from cancer (refused any treatments, however), and also suffered from a weak heart. The doctor had given her 3-9 months. Little did they know I gave her regular doses of ivermectin and when she moved in with us it was month 13 since the death sentence announced by her oncologist. To help you understand, Mary BELIEVED in the healthcare system. Took numerous other meds for high cholesterol, etc... She BELIEVED the doctors to the point that when her 9 month came about, she announced she would probably be dead by the end of the month because the doctor only gave her up to 9 months to live. Seems ridiculous, but that was her... unsuspecting, and all in. She didn't fret too much about it as a believer in Jesus, but she pretty much expected death... because the doctor said so. When she moved in, she had already been under hospice care in her own home since her death sentence. She didn't want to do the cancer treatments as this was her fourth battle with cancer in all her years and she knew what she was up against, and frankly did not want to go through that again. No one blamed her. This cancer was one they could not operate on (she'd had both breasts removed 15 years ago). This was a small tumor they found in a precarious spot in her esophagus. So, they told her she would gradually likely choke to death, be slowly unable to eat as the tumor would spread and grow. My personal opinion is that when she moved in she was a bit weak, but actually doing quite well. Like I said, she was regularly taking ivermectin. I doubt she even had cancer at this point. Until she moved in she wasn't eating right. She thought she was on death's door, so she would eat anything and everything she wanted... but it mostly consisted on junk food. With us, however, she got good meals; and she ate well! (Not like someone dying for sure!) So, you are probably wondering why I think hospice expedited her death, and had us help her. Here's what happened... When she moved in, she was set up with another hospice as we lived in another state and had to transfer her care. Let me tell you... these people are truly great, lovely, kind people. Social workers, nurses, doctors, etc.. all came to meet her and get to know her on a weekly basis. She signed her DNR like a good girl, and agreed to their protocol. A month or so after moving in, she had her first UTI (she liked the idea of not having to get up constantly to go to the bathroom, so she had a catheter put in.) It was myself and my adult daughter that first noticed the blood in the urine bag. Plus Mary was acting a little off mentally (common symptom of elderly with UTI) We contacted hospice. A nurse came by to get a urine sample to be tested. It would take TWO WEEKS to get the sample back and start her on antibiotics. TWO WEEKS! So, in the meantime, she was in pain due to the UTI. Hospice (doctor) decided this was a good time to start her on MORPHINE. I felt this was a bit overkill for a UTI, so I called to see why they would put her on morphine.. why not just give her tylenol or ibuprofen. Nope... morphine is the drug of choice for pain. Well, my husband was on board with my opinion for this and we refused at that time for any morphine, and within 3 days of starting the antibiotics for the UTI, she was back to her old self and actually gaining strength and looking good. She was helping out with laundry and cooking! However...next, she fell....hard. She fell in the presence of two nurses visiting that day (not sure how that happened, but it did). I don't blame the nurses for her fall, but seemed weird. Anyway, now she's in pain again... and rightfully so. Badly bruised tailbone. Thankfully nothing broken. What does hospice do? Time to start the morphine! And that was the beginning of the end.

So, what's the 'problem' with morphine? Two things... highly addictive and causes constipation like no ones business. So now, when she needs to go, it's often a false alarm and then also, another trip to the bathroom which she needs help to get to (with walker) as it also causes extreme weakness. We ended up getting a commode for her room to help with that, but it was still a daily struggle.

Jump ahead a couple of months... she never got off the morphine AND hospice increased the dosage continually, and the constipation remains a daily struggle in spite of how much water she drank. I tried to reason with her that she should stop taking the morphine but I was now dealing with a drug addict, and I don't have POA, only my hubby who will do whatever mom asks.

Let me tell you what else morphine does to a body... it slows everything down. It also decreases your hunger. Mary was back to not eating well. She spoke constantly only of dying, brainwashed, in my opinion, but also depressed now. She had difficulty getting up to the commode and it was hard on all of us. In all our opinions it was time for permanent bedrest. No more getting up. If she goes, we'll change the adult diaper.

Well, Mary never once went in that diaper. Once put in her bed permanently her pain increased so they upped her morphine, to HOURLY doses. Not kidding. This is where I felt like Kevorkian. What the hell? Hourly? (My husband -bless his heart- slept in the room with her to make sure she got her morphine as he didn't want his mom in any pain. FYI-he's also ALL IN on any doctors care and opinions... I pretty much had no say in this). She died 5 days later as she was never awake enough to eat or drink... kidneys shut down, everything slows down and eventually even the breathing stops. Seemed so unnecessary to me. To me, until the morphine was introduced she would have had several more months (even years?) with us. But hospice isn't designed for that. I have to wonder if they get a big pay day when someone dies... like the hospitals when they killed the covid patients with ventilators. I know... I'm just a conspiracy theorist, right?