By Irena Laska
IAHPC member; LEAD program grantee; & executive director, Mary Potter Hospice, Korça, Albania
“Dear Irena, I am sorry to disturb you, but I really need your help.”
A colleague, who works at Korça regional hospital, was calling on behalf of his patient, a former chief nurse with endometrium cancer who was in severe, unrelenting pain and unable to move due to the presence of ascitic liquid.
“She has been an icon of the profession and a positive role model for many young nurses. Unfortunately, all we can do is be present, stay by her side and listen to her sufferings. We are unable to calm her physical pain.”
I received a video of the patient groaning and praying to God for someone to do for her what she had done, with much dedication and love, for many years in her professional life: relieve her pain and suffering.
“You may have nothing to give but you can always give a listening ear, a kind word, a look, or a smile."
—Mary Potter
After discussing her case with staff, colleagues and family members, we decided to bring her to Mary Potter Hospice. There, she was examined and her case evaluated by specialized doctors and nurses, who then performed the necessary paracentesis that was so greatly needed at that moment. They extracted four liters (about one gallon) of liquid and provided analgesics/opiates to relieve the patient's pain and dyspnea.
While looking into her eyes, the patient said to me: “When I participated in the training sessions you organized, I had no idea of the many needs of a patient suffering from a disease at its terminal stages. Now I do understand and realize that without palliative care, there is no peace for the body, mind, and spirit. Palliative care is a blessing!
"I wish that I could go back in time and relieve people of their suffering by offering palliative care for them. Tell those that you train my story, because each experience share—and every story told—counts. It can change people’s lives, when they most need it."
After treatment, she was able to return home. The patient passed away five days later, quietly and peacefully.
Her Caregiver's Story: Peace for us both
After her mother's unrelenting pain was relieved by palliative care practitioners, the patient's daughter was standing in the hallway with tears in her eyes.
“I have visited many hospitals and met with many other doctors and nurses. They all said that she had cancer in an advanced stage, so there was nothing they could do. I lost my job and I have left behind my own family and children. I have spent so much time and money but with no hope that anyone could do anything for my dear mother.
"I found in you what I could not find elsewhere. Thanks to you, I understand that there is hope for those who need not only special physical treatment but also spiritual support.
"You did everything to me for nothing. You provided care, comfort, and relief not only to my mother, but also to my soul who was suffering by seeing her in that condition and unable to do something. Palliative care and its staff are the hands of angels. You provided peace, at least for a while, for both of us."
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