Patrick J. Simmons

My story is about my loving father Patrick J. Simmons. He died Sept. 3, 2014. He was a terminally ill hospice prostate cancer patient. He was admitted in to hospice on April 11, 2014 and he wished to be at home for when ever the time came. (Sepsis and Cancer)

It was a beautiful love story with my father and mother. They were married for 65 years. At the end, the family is still puzzled as to why my father died so quickly. It was not until we received the death certificate that we learned he died from several underlying factors:

(d) Prostate cancer with metastasis, 6 months,

(c) Sepsis, 12 hours,

(b) Severe electrolyte imbalance, 4 hours, and

(a) Ventricular fibrillation, 10 minutes.

With these causes, I pleaded with the hospice facility before my father died. He was severely dehydrated and needed to be hospitalized, to be given fluids and IV drip. It never happened. I am learning about sepsis, blood poisoning. I wish I could have done more.

To all families, please check hospice facilities very closely before you entrust your loved one in their care. Do not solely rely on their PCP family doctor. This has been a nightmare for the Simmons family.

Source: by Shirley Simmons (Patrick's daughter)