Accompanying Mrs. H. towards the end of her life is much more than a simple mission.
It is a complex journey, a challenge that tests the compassion and human will of our team. Mrs. H. has gone through trials that few of us can understand: a life on the street, struggles with drug abuse and daily battles with health issues.
I find myself facing this request for support realizing how heavy it will be in reality. Her life of extreme precariousness has left deep traces, but that’s not all. Ms. H. is much more than a former homeless person, much more than a person struggling with addictions and mental disorders. She is a soul, a personality with her history, her pain, and her humanity.
The path to accompany her towards the end of her life is paved with obstacles that often seem insurmountable. Medical resources are scarce, institutions sometimes insensitive to her life’s reality. Fortunately, some of them were there for her and did their job.
But these barriers aside, there is Mrs. H., with her shy smile and repressed memories. In some of our conversations she lets her fears and hopes shine through; in such moments her vulnerability comes out in all its intensity. Her struggle with diabetes has always been intense, marking her body and mind. This disease was every day a struggle for survival, for dignity.
Accompanying Mrs. H. means being aware of these battles and seeking to bring a little comfort in her last moments. It’s important to give her the sense of security and respect she so deserves. Her psychiatric disorders make it even more complicated to accompany her. The crises, sometimes misunderstood, remind us of the fragility of her mental state.
But behind these moments of confusion, there is the woman she really is, with her kindness and her sudden moments of lucidity that, touchingly, reveal the depth of her soul. Despite all these difficulties, Mrs. H. can bring light into our darkest days. It is in the small victories, the moments of real connection, that we see the glow of her humanity. It is her resilience to adversity that reveals her strength.
Despite the challenges, accompanying Madame H. towards the end of her life is an honour. It reminds us of the importance of human dignity, regardless of the life one has had. It tell us to look beyond appearances, to recognize the value of each individual, to offer humility and respect to those who need it most.
Mrs H. is about to finish her last fight within an adapted structure, with a support team that’s there for her every day.
What a fight, Mrs H…!
I am proud to be part of your support team.
You want to be part of a change?
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(*) We do our utmost to respect the privacy of our patients and our professional secrecy. However, we want to testify to how they must survive and how we are working together to reintegrate them. As a result, the names of places and people are deliberately omitted or changed and real-life situations are placed in a different context. There is no direct link between the photos and the stories above.