Ending life with increased morphine

lettydvg 5 years ago

1 reply

I am in the difficult position of disagreeing with my siblings about end of life care for my mum. She's on a syringe driver, very weak and close to the end. I believe that she shouldn't suffer pain but also that we shouldn't hurry the process along. My siblings believe she has suffered enough and it's time to put her out of her misery.

I just don't see it the same way as them and am feeling scared about alienating them after building up trust over the past couple of weeks. I live on the other side of the worl d to my siblings and don't see them very much.

I would appreciate any feedback.

Clare 5 years ago

Edited by Clare 5 years ago

Hi Lettydvg,

I am sorry to read that you feel that your mum is very close to the end and that you find yourself in the difficult position of having a different view to your siblings on your mum’s care.

I wanted to share some information with you about syringe drivers and their purpose, the video on this link may help to answer any questions you or your siblings have about them: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/help/support/terminal-illness/medication-pain-relief/syringe-drivers

If you have any questions about the use of syringe drivers,  we have Information and Support Nurses available on our Support Line, that you can discuss these with. You can reach them on Freephone 0800 090 2309 between the hours of 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday.

The aim of palliative care is to ensure that mum is as comfortable and as pain free as possible. Here in the UK, it is illegal to hasten somebody’s death and I want to reassure you that nobody would be able to administer medication for this purpose.

Hopefully others reading this will be able to share their personal experiences with you, but if you would like to talk to us at the Support Line we can provide you with a safe space to discuss your concerns and a listening ear.

Take care,

Clare

Support Line Team.