12/31/2025
Home for the Holidays - By Dr. Sarah Phillips Medical Director Hospice of the Panhandle Dec 30, 2025
Two days before Christmas, I arrive at the home of a patient recently admitted to hospice services.
She lives with her daughter, who has helped care for her over the past two years. The patient was diagnosed with a rare condition affecting her nerves and muscles throughout her body. In the fall of 2024, her condition began to rapidly deteriorate. She was admitted to the hospital and, through a cascade of complications, ultimately required a tracheostomy, ventilator support, and became completely bedbound with limited movement. She was then placed in a rehabilitation center.
Throughout this entire journey, the patient remained alert and oriented. Although her disease impaired her ability to communicate, she was still able to make her needs and wishes known. She clearly expressed that she did not want to live in a facility and adamantly wanted to be home. Her daughter vigorously advocated for her discharge, but met significant resistance, as her ability to care for her mother outside of a medical facilityāgiven the complexity of her conditionāwas questioned. Ultimately, the patient was able to return home under her daughterās care.
Getting home was step one. Getting hospice involved was step two.
This courageous and self-determined woman expressed a desire to be free from pain, suffering, and the ongoing complications and progression of her disease. Understanding that the ventilator was life-sustaining and essentially breathing for her, she made the decision to discontinue its use.
To ensure her comfort during the discontinuation of the ventilator, the hospice team was present before, during, and after the procedure. Medications were administered to ease shortness of breath, pain, and anxiety. I have had the privilege of being at the bedside for this process many times throughout my career, and while there are always emotions of sadness and grief, there is also an abundance of love, peace, and relief.
As I entered the patientās room, she lay in her hospital bed with her daughter sitting beside her, holding her hand. I sat quietly in the corner as the nurses prepared. Itās a Wonderful Life played softly on the television, and the Christmas tree glowed nearby. I watched as the daughter gently wiped away her motherās tears. Both reassured one another that everything would be okay and that they were at peace with this decision. As the medications took effect, the patient drifted off to sleep. The ventilator was stopped.
Then, something happened that I will never forget.
The daughter leaned in and whispered to her mother, āMom, the ventilator is off now. You are back in total control.ā
This moment was profound on many levels and spoke deeply to the power and importance of autonomyāthe ability to make independent decisions that align with oneās values and goals.
Despite facing a life-limiting illness that month after month stripped away more and more of her control, she reclaimed it. She did not want to be in a facility. She wanted to be home. She wanted to be free from the suffering she had endured and continued to endure. She no longer wanted a machine breathing for her.
Even after working in end-of-life care for over a decade, I still experience moments when I am overwhelmed by the strength of the human spirit. What a privilege it is to be present and witness such a sacred demonstration of bravery, love, and self-determination.
This beautiful soul passed away a few hours laterāin her home, with her daughter, and on her own terms.
- Dr. Sarah Phillips has been the medical director at Hospice of the Panhandle since February 2013. She holds a certification as a hospice medical director. Hospice is a not-for-profit agency that has cared for patients and families with life-limiting illnesses in Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire and Jefferson counties since 1980. Panhandle Palliative Services has been operating since 2021. For more information on how hospice or palliative care can help you or your family, call (304) 264-0406, or visit on-line at www.hospiceotp.org.
We are grateful to serve patients and families during such meaningful moments and to help honor what matters most, especially during the holidays.
