At last, she became too sick to work on the quilt. Mom died before the quilt was finished, but it was all right. Without my knowledge, two Christmases later, my husband's parents finished the quilt for me. It was the most wonderful gift imaginable. While caring for terminally ill patients can be rewarding, it can also be daunting.
Families provide the majority of care, even nursing services, without training or support.
According to a groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine , the majority of care for the terminally ill is provided by female family members, not professional health care providers. Women are doubly affected by the need for care at the end of life. Almost three quarters of all care for dying patients was provided by women. At the same time, women who needed care received less assistance from family members than men and were more likely to have to pay for assistance. We need to assure that these caregivers are suitably trained and supported.