There’s No Place Like Home

Like many of us, Joann Shanahan thought that in order to receive palliative care, you had to be at the very end of your life. Until her husband Wayne’s experience with the service, she couldn’t have imagined the profound and months-long impact palliative care would have on she and her family. After her husband Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer, he was referred to the Palliative Care Service. As Wayne had previously spent five months in hospital for a undiagnosed illness, they chose to receive palliative care at home.

‘Wayne’s quality of life was immediately impacted,” said Joann. “Every need was met, and it was met with care and compassion.” She says nurse Brett Gillis checked in frequently, and not only answered her many questions but also was a willing and sympathetic sounding board when times got challenging. She says doctors often came to the house to provide for Wayne’s needs. “I rarely had to make a call because Brett and others checked in so frequently,” says Joann. And, if I did call, I received a response within a very reasonable period of time.”

For Joann, the comfort of being at home meant that friends could easily drop by to offer their support, which they did with comforting frequency. She says so many provided meals, or offered to take care of whatever needed to be done. For Wayne, it meant sleeping in his own bed, going out on the deck to watch the progress of the garden he planted or watching TV in his favourite chair.

Joann says the Palliative Care Service, and the supports it provides, with the assistance of the Hospice Society, meant that she was never on her own. “I know without the service’s support, the quality and quantity of Waye’s life would be different,” said Joann. “And being at home is what Wayne wanted.

Joann says she has so much gratitude and appreciation for the experience. “Even though it was one of my toughest times, it was made so much more bearable with the compassion, care and support of the Palliative Care Service.