Testimonials – Hospice Care by Mitigare

Managing Anticipatory Grief Through Hospice Care

We are deeply grateful to Jaime for his testimonial about his wife Imelda a 32-year-old patient diagnosed with ovarian cancer, who entered the Hospice service in October 2020 and died in March 2021. Imelda was sick for a year.

She lived with her family in a ranch outside of San Miguel de Allende. Despite the distance, the Mitigare hospice medical director visited the patient once per week. In January, when the patient´s health deteriorated, the doctor visits increased as required. In addition, on several occasions, her husband who was the primary caregiver went to the doctor’s house to get the required drugs.

In November 2020, her husband and two daughters, ages 12 and 8 respectively, began receiving emotional and grief support from the thanatology service twice a month.

Meanwhile, her family pitched in to help. While her husband went to work, her sisters and mother took turns helping her with household chores and the care of the girls.

Beginning in January, as Imelda became weaker, and lost her appetite, hospice provided the family a portable bathroom and a wheelchair for them to transport her to the medical clinic for required tests.

In February she was still very weak however she was able to join her family during her mother’s birthday and spent a nice day. It is the goal of hospice to help patients celebrate important events in their lives as much as possible.

The thanatology work made the patient, her husband, and the girls aware of the inevitable situation. When Imelda passed, her desires and last wishes where clearly transmitted to them. Several communication dynamics were provided to the couple. The patient wrote letters for her girls and rest of her family to close cycles.

Imelda died in physical and mental peace thanks to palliative care (consisting of medical support and drugs, as well as emotional support). The husband and the girls continue to have bereavement therapy to get through this painful loss.

Jaime says Mitigare was of great help to Imelda and all the family. Thanks to the emotional support he got, when his wife died, he was calm and brave since he was prepared. He learned how to speak the truth and communicate rightly. Also, he said that when he was with Imelda he did not cry since he could do that when he had a thanatological appointment.

Hospice Care by Mitigare offers support and in-home hospice for persons with life-threatening illnesses. Mitigare is an authorized nonprofit organization that is accessible to all regardless of capacity to pay. Mitigare offers pain and symptom management as well as provides psycho-social and emotional support to the patient and family. Let’s talk: call us at 415-111-7637 or write us at contacto@mitigare.org.

Pamela: A Short but Beautiful Life

We are deeply grateful to Veronica Lopez for her testimonial about her sister Pamela, she took care of her as a mother when she was 16. Pamela was born with a malformed heart. Despite poor prognosis, she had corrective surgery when she was just a baby. She had open-heart surgery at four years old. Due to a failure of that surgery, Pamela then had a stroke. The family was told she would never again speak, walk and would lose all her memories.

The family never accepted the doctor’s prognosis. They continued to love her and give various therapies to improve her life. At 14, she had surgery to give her quality of life since she was no longer moving. Through sheer determination Pamela continued to live and walk. When she reached 18 years, the Infant Hospital in Mexico City said she had exceeded all medical expectations and should have died years before. As an adult she couldn´t longer receive treatment there.

Pamela was accepted by a specialist hospital in Mexico City and the doctors recommended another operation. The family refused because of poor results from previous surgeries. The hospital began providing thanatological support to the family to help them accept the situation and inevitability of an imminent death. Pamela struggled to live as well as possible until a new life-threatening crisis presented itself when Pamela turned nineteen. Her condition would not allow her to be moved. Her Mexico City doctors recommended Dra. Maria de Lourdes Tejeida, a San Miguel based certified palliative care physician. She is also the medical director of Hospice Care by Mitigare and one of the only 125 certified hospice doctors in Mexico.

The family pleaded with Dra. Tejeida to do her best because Pamela was suffering so and on the edge of death. To everyone’s surprise and relief, Dra. Tejeida had Pamela stabilized without pain and comfortable within the first 24 hours. Dra. Tejeida continued to be there for the next three years. At the onset of any new crisis, Dra. Tejeida would rush to Pamela’s care. There were times when Pamela presented no vital signs and Dra. Tejeida was advising the family by telephone what actions they should take until she arrived. Mitigare was also providing psycho-social and emotional care to Pamela and the family.

Veronica Lopez, says, “Mitigare was the best thing ever happened to Pamela and us. Dra. Tejeida was a blessing and it felt almost like magic to have her expertise in resolving such complicated issues. Pamela lived the best three years of her life under care from Mitigare. She was able to die without pain and at home with us who loved her the most.” Veronica regrets they did not know Mitigare before and says that much pain and suffering could have been avoided. She says that she is sorry they did not have Mitigare when her mother was dying and that she now tells everyone that no one needs to die in pain or discomfort with Mitigare as a resource.