Katie guided me and advocated for my mom through her last 48 hours of life. Without Katie, my mom's last few days would have been miserable, racked with constant pain, nausea, and vomiting.

My mom battled pancreatic cancer for about 2 years. In the middle, she was cancer free for about nine months. During that time, Mom decided to move to Florida which included changing all of her doctors. Within three months of living in Florida, the pancreatic cancer returned. By December my mom had a PET scan and returned to IL to be with family for Christmas. The PET scan had not been read yet by her provider in FL, and he would not speak to her either on the phone or via Telehealth. My mom and I are both nurses, and we could get enough out of the PET scan to understand it was not good. My mom was very weak and was only taking in about 200 calories a day. I knew I could not get her back to FL for a face-to-face discussion with the primary provider. 

I asked around for help and was given Katie Telger's name. Katie guided me as to how to get Mom seen so she could be referred to Hospice Care. However, before we could get her fully established in their care my mom was brought to OSF ED for vomiting blood. One of her tumors was on the stomach wall. I asked the ED doctors to also refer her to Hospice, and Katie was able to come and admit my mom to Hospice Care. I had no concept of time that day, but I do know that Katie came to the room, sat down, and made it clear that she would give me as much time as I needed. Katie explained the care my mom would be receiving, all of the paperwork, and critically thought about how to keep my mom comfortable. She also explained everything to the ED staff so everyone was on the same page. As I stated my mom was vomiting blood, which was causing her to be extremely nauseated, the tumor was causing her pain, and she was very dehydrated. My mom was miserable, and I didn't know how to make her comfortable. Katie suggested an NG tube to keep the blood out of the stomach to decrease the nausea. She also suggested different medications to help with the pain, and while she was still in the hospital, they could put an IV in to get her hydrated again. I understood the IV had to come out once she left the hospital and asked how we would keep her from feeling dehydrated at Hospice. Katie explained with the NG mom could drink and even eat anything she wanted. The NG suction would remove both from her stomach. I had never seen an NG used in such a manner, and I was thrilled. Once mom understood the purpose of the NG, she agreed to it as well. 

Due to the time of the day and transportation, Mom was not able to be transported to Richard Owens Hospice House until 11 am so at 530 in the morning, Mom was transferred from the ED to a room to wait until she could be transferred to Hospice. There was a complication with getting my mom's NG suction hooked back up after arriving on the floor. At 745 or 8 in the morning, I reached back out to Katie for help. By this time, my mom was nauseated and vomiting blood again. I have no idea what Katie said but a provider came to mom's room within 5-10 minutes, assessed the situation, and gave the order to hook the NG back to suction. This made the last few hours on this floor much more comfortable. 

By 11 that morning, Mom was transferred to Richard Owens Hospice House. As Katie stated, Mom had a relaxing bath with pretty lotions, a snuggly soft blanket (she was always cold), and all the water bottles she could enjoy. My mom passed within 24 hours of arriving at the Hospice House.

I have heard OSF Hospice Care is an amazing group, and I can now agree. The entire group was amazing, but Katie Telger advocating for my mom to decrease her pain, nausea, and vomiting and guiding me through the hardest days of my life, will be forever appreciated.