What do hospice volunteers do, and why are they such an important part of end-of-life care? I’ve worked in hospice for quite a long time. I started out as a hospice volunteer in 1982. It was the very beginning of hospice care in the US. In those days, I volunteered much of my time — I […]
Why You Need an Advance Directive (Before You Think You Do) National Healthcare Decisions Day – April 16 Healthcare decisions are certainly important enough to have their own special day.The sad and unfortunate thing is that most of us don’t even think about them—or realize there are decisions to be made. Generally, we don’t make […]
Some of you may see this differently—and that’s okay. I’m simply offering another way to think about this subject. I don’t believe that choosing to remain “full code” aligns with the purpose of hospice care. When that is the goal, palliative care may be the more appropriate path. Having hospice teams perform CPR goes against what hospice is […]
I’m going to give you something to think about. Some of you will disagree with me—and that’s okay. I am simply offering another perspective on living as death approaches. My husband was 89 years old when, during a routine chest exam, two lesions were found in his lung, very close to a lymph node. It […]
Is it normal to feel angry at someone who died? Yes. And for many people, that anger is one of the most confusing parts of grief. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross wrote about the stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—but these emotions don’t happen in order, and they don’t come one at a time. It isn’t […]
Those of us working in the end of life profession are not only working in an area generally not talked about, let alone understood, but we are in a field that goes against much of what healthcare professionals are taught. Healthcare professionals are trained to fix, to do everything possible to keep a person breathing. […]
From the emails I receive, it seems that the three most concerning, upsetting aspects of dying for the watchers are agitation, hallucinations, and the gurgling from excess moisture in the throat and/or back of the mouth. These three areas are very much a part of the dying process. Many dying people have them, it’s just […]
Dear Barbara,Is the death process different when a person is killed by violence—such as a gunshot, stabbing, or physical beating—than when death comes suddenly through an accident? In both situations, death is immediate, and the person doesn’t have time to sort through thoughts or see landscapes. Those killed by violence or any other way that […]
I debated sending out this blog — it might be a bit scary, too unsettling. Maybe ignorance truly is bliss. So this is your warning! If you are in your late 70’s or above this may be unsettling to read. The circle of life. We are born, we experience, and then we die. We go […]
Hospice volunteers step into families’ lives at one of the most private moments they will ever experience. Preparing them for this intimate work requires understanding and education. Hospice volunteers are non-medical community members who contribute their time to give support to people and their caregivers as death approaches. They have generally never met the family they […]
