Loving Choices, Peaceful Passing: Why My Family Chose Hospice |
Bob Vallee
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Meet Bob ValleeWhen Bob received the devastating diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, he was given four weeks to live, without treatment. At the end of the third week of radiation his throat was so swollen he could not eat or drink. His wife Maryanne, and daughters Kathleen and Anne, knew the radiation was killing him faster than the cancer.
Like millions of his fellow Americans, Bob was rapidly headed for a terrible death in the hospital, enduring more futile radiation. When the doctor said he would need a stomach tube to continue treatment, the Vallee family said “no” and found another way. Choosing hospice care is not “giving up.” On the contrary, the last 29 days of Bob’s life were some of the richest of his 80 years on earth. He was able to live comfortably at home with the help of the hospice nurse and other professionals. Choosing hospice is not a death sentence, choosing hospice is an act of love. Offered here is an intimate account of how the myriad end-of-life decisions affect a family. It is a story of acceptance, forgiveness, reconciliation, and finally, awe for the fragility of life. |
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Ted Olzak and Kathleen
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"I was honored to receive the Independent Press Book Award for my book in the Caregiving Specialized Category on June 24. My husband and I went to the awards banquet in Newark, New Jersey, and then visited our son Ben, and two grandchildren, Louise and Lucien in Brooklyn.
It was fascinating to meet so many other authors and share our struggles and rewards as writers. The pictures are of my proud husband and me, Independent Press founder Ted Olzak, and Ben and the children. They even gave me a trophy, my first one ever."
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Kathleen Vallee Stein
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About KathleenKathleen Vallee Stein is a Los Angeles based author whose opinion pieces have appeared in newspapers and magazines, including: Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, Pasadena Star News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Orange County Registrar, and the Jewish Journal.
Stein's book Loving Choices, Peaceful Passing, Why My Family Chose Hospice is about her family's experience with hospice care for her father and is now available anywhere books are sold online and at Vroman's bookstore in Pasadena. |
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“The information that Kathleen Vallee Stein shares from a daughter’s perspective about hospice is important because it’s one we [hospice physicians] don’t always hear. Loving Choices, Peaceful Passing: Why My Family Chose Hospice is a guide for families who are faced with end-of-life decisions and don’t know how to ask the doctor for help. Buy this informative and comforting book for yourself and another for a friend.”
- Karen Wyatt, MD, hospice physician and author of 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying. Visit her at https://karenwyattmd.com/wisdom
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Download a Free Medicare & Hospice Guide SheetThe information in the Medicare and Hospice Overview comes primarily from medicare.gov. It walks you through what Medicare covers with hospice, how to find a hospice provider, and gives helpful links for creating advance health care directives. This is my gift to you. No email required. (Updated for 2023.)
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Download Hospice and HopeUnderstand the difference between false hope and realistic hope with this guide created based on information I received from Karen Wyatt, MD.
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