I then
took a holiday break so wasn't able to see Lee again for a couple of weeks, by
which time things had taken a dramatic turn for the worse and he was now back
in the Hospice.
Lee was
on maximum pain relief and barely conscious by this time, and though he was
unable to acknowledge those present around him, I know he would have recognised
and taken comfort from the distinctive smell of the oil I used to massage his
hands and feet, and he would have been familiar with the warmth and touch of my
hands.
At this
time, I could feel no pulses whatsoever, so I thought needling to be futile at
this stage. His hands and feet were very swollen and bruised due to circulation
failure and administration of warfarin to disperse a clot in an artery. It was
clear to me that he was very close to the end of his life, and so I felt it
enough to reassure those around him and to show them certain stress-relieving
acupressure points that they could do for Lee.
I was
very saddened to hear that Lee lost his fight for life in the early hours of
the next morning. I did learn however, that his mother had indeed made the trip
from the US, and they had spent some quality time together and hopefully were
able to resolve the issue relating to Lee’s childhood.
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