Dealing with a terminally ill person can be a heart wrenching experience for the family members of people who are close to the terminally ill person. A lot of courage, patience and endurance are necessary in such cases to go through the pain and suffering and to offer him/her support, strength, faith, happiness and lot of care.
Be willing to listen
Being a good listener is the best thing that you can offer to a person who is terminally ill. Let him/her talk about the fears, pain, hurt, anger, sufferings and countless other things that go through their minds when they are terminally ill. Talking makes them relax and helps them feel better that someone out there cares enough for them to listen to them. Physical presence and a willingness to listen are what they carve at this point of time and you must be caring enough to offer them that. Listen to whatever they have to say. Sometimes it could be silly stories about their past, their kids, little things they enjoyed doing and so on. Sharing can also make them less stressed out and can increase their chances of living a few more days or even weeks. A positive person who can encourage a terminal ill person to talk and share could even be putting them on a miraculous road to recovery.
Offer strength and support
Strength and support are two important factors that can help a terminally ill person to go through the ordeals of the condition and remain strong and willing to bear until the end. Terminal illnesses like cancer can be very painful and the suffering associated with such conditions can take a toll on the people who are closely dealing with the ill person. Offer him/her great strength and support so that you can alleviate the sufferings at least to a certain extent and help them cope better. Many terminally ill people can break under the pressure as it is painful to know that you are slowly dying and will never have a chance to live. Give them strength and let them know that they have lived their life to the fullest and everyone has to leave this world one day or the other. Support in the form of consoling words and words of wisdom will help them keep faith and embrace death with courage.
Tackle their fears
Being terminally ill means waiting for your death to arrive any time. Waiting for death when you know that you are destined to die any minute is a very disturbing experience. Most terminally ill people will have a fear of death which will be playing in their minds and giving them nightmares and sleepless nights. At all times, be present near them so that they can be peaceful and discard their fears when they rest and sleep. The fact that they are not alone when they die will be a great relief for them and this will help them be more accepting towards their fate and help them cope with the fear of death. Make them understand that it is with the completion of duties in this world that death comes calling. Point out to them that they have completed their duties wonderfully and have no reason to feel regret or grief when they die. This will help them get peace of mind and relaxation when they move towards their final days.
Importance of instilling faith
Faith is an important factor that all terminally ill people must hold on to while they breathe their last. Faith has the strength to make people strong and be ready to accept death naturally and without remorse and fear. With faith comes a willingness to endure, bear pain, submission to the sufferings and a mind to bear the burden of the disease with a brave heart and undying spirit. Many a time, people who have extreme faith in God are known to have attained complete cure from terminal illnesses. Train them to hold on to faith, if not for healing, at least for strength and willingness to accept their condition without complaints.
Shower abundant love, care and happiness
To make their final days of suffering and pain a little more bearable and worthy of living, do your best to give them loads of love, care, happiness and joy of being close and together. Let them enjoy the love of friends, relatives, children and colleagues. Make things as pleasant as possible and be sure to let them know that they have been well loved and cherished. Talk to them about the good deeds they have done and how they have touched your lives in special ways and through special deeds. It would be a joy to let them know how loved they are.
