We are born, we experience and then we die. There are a lot of emotions when we are born (joy, anticipation, pride, throw in some fear but not too much). All of these emotions are experienced by those around us. We, the newborn, are busy adjusting to this new way of living. There are a […]
Denial. Denial by the person with a life threatening illness, denial by the caregiver, and I’ll even add denial by some attending physicians. Denial is often the reaction to diseases that have reached the point of not being fixable. It can’t be me. It can’t be my special person. The doctors are wrong. If we […]
We who work in end of life situations take care of the patient and the caregiver/ family. As end of life approaches, our attention and interactions revolve around the family/ caregiver as much as the patient. Our work involves creating trust with all involved as quickly as possible. End of life work is time sensitive. We […]
There seems to be some confusion about advance directives and POLST forms (Physician Orders for Life Saving Treatment). Both are very important if you want to have input in your end of life decisions. So — here is what you need to know. Advance directives are legal documents that provide instructions for medical care. They only […]
“You often can’t see the forest for the trees” is one of the many things I learned being a caregiver. Now, months after my husband’s death, I have been thinking, “Barbara, you know the signs of approaching death. Signs of months, weeks, days, and hours. How did you not see them with your own husband?” […]
I was sent a Los Angeles Times article yesterday because my booklets were cited as an educational tool at a Death Cafe in the city. It reminded me of a time several years ago when a local Death Cafe leader asked to screen my short film New Rules For End of Life Care in a […]
We used to have grandma’s body “laid out” in the parlor and family and friends came to our home with support and food. Grandma died in the home and we said goodbye to her in our home. Gradually, we moved from home gatherings to funeral homes and churches. An internet search says funeral homes began […]
Dear Barbara, Will you discuss palliative sedation? Palliative sedation is a term used by hospice, palliative care, and medical professionals to describe giving large doses of sleep-inducing medications to induce unconsciousness. It is a pain management technique used when all other pain management options have been unsuccessful. It is not routinely used. I would even say […]
FOOD! We eat to live. It sustains living. Everyone and everything needs some form of food, of nourishment, to maintain life. Animals (and that includes humans), plants, insects, all need some form of food to live. It seems that with humans, we add to the nourishment aspect of eating a social component as well as […]
I was thinking about hospice volunteer training. What makes a good training program? I am hearing stories about the lack of professional staff training for new hires, which led me to wonder about volunteer training. So—here are my thoughts for a hospice volunteer training program: At the first meeting of the training, have a discussion […]
