"Hospice is like a box of chocolates"

I have really come to understand that in hospice, you never know what you're going to get.

I have a client who I just love. He is hilarious. Apparently, he is exceptionally inappropriate with other people who care for him (earning him the title of "dirty old man") but with me he's just downright funny. I ask if he would like some music and he says yes. Then, before I even get the guitar case open he hollers, "Well, come on then!" or "Let's go!" He sits and listens to the music with his eyes closed and responds after a song has completed by saying, "That was beeeeeeautiful" or he'll comment, "That was an oldie but goodie". Sometimes he'll say, "You left me in left field with that one". I'm really not sure how to take that last comment...

On the other hand I see a client who is always in bed, normally asleep, and NEVER responsive. He's a hard one to see because while it's easy just to play some improvised bedside music, its frustrating because it's hard to tell if he even hears it, let alone responds positively.

Last Thursday, I went to go see this client. It was my last stop of the day and the facility is close to home so it's easy to stop by on my way out in the morning or on the way back in the afternoons. I signed into the facility, made my way up to the patient's floor, and found his bed empty. Inside I thought if this guy died and no one told me, I'm going to be frustrated. I ask a nurse passing by where the patient is, and she directs me down to a common area where I have never been before. And there he is! Sitting up in a broda chair. Awake, alert, and oriented x1. WHAT?! I hardly even recognized the man. I introduced myself and he responded! Said a very clear yes to wanting music and talked to me through the entire session. Yes, he was also talking to a few hallucinations, but where did this come from?! He SANG ALONG with a few songs and when I placed my guitar on his lap for vibro-tactile stimulation, he even tried strumming a few times on his own!  I was flabbergasted. We had such a great time together talking about his past and singing songs that I stayed for longer than I have ever spent with him. The time flew by!

I think I floated home... thinking about how different each day is for everyone. You have to go into each session as if this will be the last time you see that patient and do the best for them every time. And honestly, once you think you have someone "all figured out"... you don't. You never know when something will happen from "out in left field".

Yes, hospice is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get. 

and it's really oh so sweet.