By ALYSSA GUZMAN, US NEWS REPORTER
A man was evicted from hospice for dying too slowly, now he’s back to making his signature blueberry pies with his wife.
Mike Salmon, then 73, was placed in hospice care in January 2026 after he suffered through aortic aneurysms, sepsis, and temporary delirium.
He had undergone three operations over the course of a few months, only to suffer a near-fatal aortic aneurysm afterward.
Doctors recommended two more risky surgeries, and he was placed in hospice care, where patients go when they’re expected to die within the next six months, his wife Kim Clark wrote for KFF Health News.
If Salmon did nothing, he would likely die within weeks.
‘I’m astonished I’ve made it this far,’ his wife recalled him saying.
Six months later, however, Mike would be evicted from the end-of-life care for dying too slowly.
It is rare to be released from hospice care, with only about six percent of patients doing so. However, those not predicted to die within a six-month period can be released from the program.