Answer to dying wish

I’m writing this in support of your editorial (July 20) “Hospice care fills void left at limits of medicine.”

At the beginning of this year, my father, who was living with me and my wife in our home, was diagnosed as dying. He was anxious to continue living with us rather than going to a nursing facility. Trying to respect his wishes, despite the fact that we have no medical training and did not know what we were getting into, we got in contact with Hospice of Spokane, which accepted him as a patient.

For years I have heard people singing the praises of hospice care, and we got to witness it for ourselves. They were all wonderfully knowledgeable, caring, properly responsive professionals throughout those last few months of his life, managing his pain and helping us help him be safe and relatively comfortable. He did die in our home, as he wished to do.

I would encourage other Spokanites in similar circumstances, who have loved ones who have been diagnosed as likely to die within a few months, to consider the option of hospice care. In our case, Hospice of Spokane proved to be an unmitigated blessing for which we are deeply grateful.

Wayne P. Pomerleau

Spokane