How to Manage Family Illness at Home

"This sensitive and compassionate book...concentrates on the patient rather than the illness. It is immensely readable and interesting because it is illustrated with many personal stories. Gill Pharaoh gives us hope and brings out the best in human nature which sometimes happens when people are faced with a real crisis." Tony Benn This book explains how to care for someone at home through a serious illness which may possibly end with death. It discusses practical issues from the shock of diagnosis, through to the day-to-day management of nursing someone at home. The emphasis is on open communication within the family, and the understanding that there is no right or wrong way to manage illness at home: There are many examples of how other families have coped in similar circumstances. There are no definitive answers in this scenario, but Gill Pharaoh hopes that by offering practical alternatives, and discussing the way other people have managed in similar situations, families will feel confident enough to make their own decisions. It is written for the whole family to read because if at the end of the illness, the patient dies, it is important that everyone concerned can feel that they have done their best and are free from feelings of guilt and regret. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gill Pharaoh has worked for many years in hospitals, hospices, and in the community, in palliative care and general nursing care. She is also author of Careers in Caring.