My pain raged and roared. It only ebbed if I didn’t move. Which was impossible.

“They’re gonna give you morphine,” one of my companions said.

Another declared, “You’ll get addicted.”

Morphine? Really? Wasn’t that only in the movies? Wasn’t that nasty drug only as a last resort for the worst of the worst?

Whump-whump. Whump-whump.

We heard the whirling blades chopping the air before we spotted the helicopter angling between the mountain ridges. It was searching for a landing spot near where I lay by the circle of rocks from last night’s now cold campfire. At mid-day, several hours earlier, I had busted my leg while exploring the area with a group of kids from the church I then served. On a weekend backpack, we had found an inviting slope of snow—really more an ice field in that part of the summer—and decided to butt-slide down its tempting expanse. As the mature associate pastor, I went first. Read More →

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The hospice nurse has strongly suggested using morphine for the patient’s increased pain.

You are the patient, still alert and oriented, able to make your own decisions. What will you say to the nurse?

You have the authority—the durable power of attorney for health care—to make decisions when your loved one is unable to choose. What will you say to the nurse?

Every person and family is different. Some, when faced with the toughest decisions in hospice (like starting morphine for pain management), surprise themselves when they are all in agreement. Other families, who may easily agree on whose house to go to for Thanksgiving, or the right gift for Mom and Dad’s fortieth wedding anniversary, either debate or procrastinate about morphine as an option. And nearly every hospice professional has encountered a chaotic, angry, opinionated—yes, over-the-top dysfunctional—family that seems to go to war when a drug like morphine is a loved one’s suggested next step.

Morphine is an effective, scary, and powerful medication. It often becomes the tipping point for resisting or accepting hospice’s comfort care philosophy. Read More →

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