Last month, I had a 91 year old hospice patient, "old John who was dying of CHF. His wife had died 2 years ago, so he was alone. He had long since given up being able to care for his pet dog "Pepper", a small, rat-looking, yappy dog who was 16 (112 in dog years) herself. Pepper had to be taken away a few weeks ago so she could be taken care of by John's daughter, who lived 10 miles away.
I was called in to see John after he had declined to the point that his doctor had discharged John from the hospital to go home and be comfortable for his last few hours.
By this point, John was comatose1, nonresponsive to family and obviously near the end. Only myself and John's son-in-law were in the house. The rest of the family kept their vigil at their own houses, waiting for my call.
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