Dr. John Lerma Weblog

Hello Dr. Lerma,

I met you at the book signing in Brownsville. I am Diane. First of all I wanted to tell you I enjoyed your visit with us here in Brownsville and it was truly an honor to meet you. I am reading your book for the 2nd time. I know I missed something the first time!
Anyways, I wanted to let you know how much your book has helped. I sent the book to my sister and my mother in Ohio and I spoke to my mother today and ask her how she liked the book. First let me give you a little background. My dad is in a nursing home right now. He has Alzheimer’s and is truly suffering. He’s gotten to the point where all he does is cry all the time and mumble and you can’t understand him. He can barely walk and has lost a lot of weight. My mother had to put him there just before Christmas because she was unable to take care of him any longer. A little bit more info. My father hasn’t been the best person in life. He cheated on my mother numerous times and even thou they were close to divorce they stayed together and my mother has never been able to forgive him for all he put her through. That was one of our concerns when she did take care of him. She was awfully mean to him and my sisters and I decided that it was the best place for him since she had so much resentment built up toward him. So to make a long story short today when I spoke to my mother and ask her if the book has helped her she said that after reading your book she has been able to forgive my father for all that he has done. Wow! I feel so happy with this! My mother has been a very bitter person and has had a chip on her shoulder for years and today when I spoke to her she was the most pleasant person. I have had a lot of mixed feelings towards her in the way she has treated my dad but after today I feel elated! I have my mom back! I’ll never have my dad back because he’s already on his way. My sister told me she visited him in the nursing home and he was mumbling and she couldn’t understand him and out of the blue he said clearly “Do you think I should go or stay”? My sister hadn’t read your book yet and she thought he was talking about staying at the nursing home and she told him he should stay. She’s says she feels bad that she didn’t understand his question and really wishes she could go back and help him out. The same day he was sitting in bed and kept pointing to the corner of the room. She said the sunlight was coming in from the window and my dad kept pointing to it and talking but she couldn’t understand him. She truly believes he was seeing the angels then. I don’t know how much longer he has but just after reading your book I think his time will be soon.

Well, I just wanted to share what your wonderful book has done for me and my family. Keep up the good work Dr. Lerma and just know you and your books will help thousands of people everywhere.

My God Bless you

Diane

By Dave Fehling / 11 News - Tuesday, April 22, 2008

HOUSTON — It’s one of the toughest times we face as families: When an elderly parent is terminally ill, how much should we do to keep them living?

In Houston, it turns out that we may be doing a lot — maybe too much. It’s been nine years ago this month that Lisa Jobe’s stepfather died of lung cancer. “It came as quite a shock to our family,” she said. A shock because he was just 69. In the final months of his life, he got the best of care at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, but now in hindsight, she wonders if all that care was really necessary.

“At one point, I remember my mother and I talking about how we’re just going through the motions here because this is what we’re supposed to do?” Jobe said.

Is there such a thing as too much medical care? Money wasted on care that doesn’t necessarily improve one’s health or longevity? That’s what’s suggested in a new study about big medical complexes like the Texas Medical Center.

Dartmouth Medical School did a nationwide study of how much the government’s Medicare program spends on elderly patients in the last six months of their lives.

Houston hospitals charged the government about $33,000 on average. That’s more than in Beaumont, Dallas or Austin — and way more than in Bryan. And in Houston, doctors saw patients more often: some 45 visits in their last six months. It was more often than doctors in those other Texas cities and nearly twice as often as doctors in Bryan. But isn’t the care better in Houston? In general, the Dartmouth study said no.
“Hospitals … that use more services per patient do not necessarily have higher quality care. In fact, it is slightly worse,” the study said.

Dr. Susan Krauter specializes in caring for the terminally ill. “I think a lot of money is used that looking back, we can say wasn’t such a good idea,” she said. She works at Houston Hospice, a beautifully-furnished, landscaped facility in the shadow of the Texas Medical Center.

“The approach here is death is not the enemy,” CEO Jim Monahan said. Monahan runs the hospice where dying patients are made as comfortable as possible. He said he doesn’t fault someone for wanting to do everything possible to prolong life, but said more families are now considering whether its truly worth it.

“Do I want to be traipsing into the doctor’s office, going through a lot of treatments that may or may not work?” he said.

But as we put this story together we were warned to be careful of this: the “Myths of the High Medical Cost of Old Age and Dying.” Dr. Robert Roush points to other studies that say only about three percent of Medicare patients run up unusually high medical bills in the final months of their lives.

According to a report by the Mt.Sinai Medical School, “many older people who receive aggressive care survive and do well for an extended period.”In other words, its not money wasted even if their days left are limited.

“What’s the value of seeing a few more great sunsets?” Dr. Roush said. “Is that worth it? To me personally it is.” He also said there are reasons why Houston’s costs may be higher with its concentration of cutting edge hospitals that attract some of the most seriously ill patients seeking the most advanced care.
Like Jobe’s stepfather. “He was not going to get better,” she said. She has no regrets and said her stepdad died at peace, but she can’t help but wonder if all that costly care made any difference.

Click here to see the study that ranks Houston hospitals and compares them to others across the country.
Click here to watch the video on 11 News

Dr. Johnnie

I hope you are doing well — I had surgery back on Feb 12 th and was placed in a semiprivate room. The gentleman, Mr. G, in the other bed was a gentle soul from the Lower Rio Grande Valley. He was a former high school principle and a kidney transplant recipient. We got along and each of us spoke about our family and values we were trying to instill in them. During one part of the conversation, he mentioned that he was not scared to die and believed in God. I told him about my spiritual experiences at Houston Hospice and about your book, Into The Light. I had my wife bring a copy to the hospital the next day and gave it to him as a gift. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers. He had me sign the book and write a note for him from a new friend — something good coming out of something bad.
Almost 2 months after our meeting, I was suddenly reminded of Mr. G and wanted to call him to see how he was doing and to chat about the book. Initially, I could not find his contact information, but after a few days and while going through paper work, I accidentally found his phone number. I would soon find out this was NO accident and No coincidence, as I would receive one of the most meaningful phone calls in my life.
The phone call was from Mrs. G, who I never had a chance to meet, calling me to share that her husband had died last month. Mrs. G said she saw the book, Into The Light, lying on top of other books Mr. G had read, and felt compelled to pick it up and open it. In the beginning pages she found my phone number written down and quickly remembered one of their last moving and spiritual conversations.
She went on to say that during his last days, he finished reading your book and mentioned how the angel stories and Gods messages in the book made it so much easier to transition from this world to the next. At that moment, she was reminded of one of his last requests; to call me and let me know the book made a big difference.
I just wanted to share this story with you. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the funeral, yet, I was so moved by his comments as well as the synchronicity that allowed his wife to contact me at the time I was thinking about him. Mrs. G as well as I, as I know you will be Dr. Johnnie, will be moved by Mr. G’’s desire to express how great the book was to him — you definitely have made a difference and I am proud to know you.

Your friend,
Vincent

Hello Dr John;

I am using the email you sent so you may recall what was written. First I want to thank you for your prompt reply and the length, content and heart felt advise. We seem to have similar philosophies regarding
spiritual attitudes and yes I would be interested in participating in your foundation if I can.

I have used and advised my patients to burn letters as you suggested for many, many years. Yesterday as I was working in the hospital I entered a room where the patient looked very ill, very ashen and I knew he was gravely ill. He told me that he was told he would not survive the day. I offered my help as a healer to help in some capacity and just sit with him, talk with him and help him. He had a family member, female with him and he keep saying he just wanted to go, she wanted him to die peacefully, quietly. I strongly felt he just gave up and I thought I could help although I did not know what I would say. For 26 years I aid in healing and only aided in helping my grandmother pass experienced this before. But I honored their wishes and left.

What could I have said or done in that short time to help? Your experience and opinion is greatly appreciated.

Thank you and God Bless!