We often don’t see what we don’t want to see. When it comes to acknowledging the end of life’s approach, this sentence is very true. My husband recently died of cancer. I am an end of life educator. I know what dying looks like, how it progresses, and what to do to support the person […]
“I’m watching someone I love slowly die. She’s bed bound, her body is breaking down, she’s in pain despite medication, but she’s still here, taking small sips, a few bites. I can see that she’s suffering. She said she didn’t want to live like this, so why is she still here? Why is she still […]
Doctor’s office visits for health issues are scary, often confusing, and too often complicated with medical terms we don’t understand. And we are generally ill or have health issues that will interfere with clear thinking. Actually, even if it is a routine health check, what I am going to suggest is applicable. Obviously I can’t […]
What is hospice? Where did it come from? What is its history? The concept of specialized care for the dying originated in England around the 1960’s. Dame Cicely Saunders — an important and influential physician, nurse, social worker, and writer in end of life care — established a specific facility to care for those people […]
I think one of the most helpless times in life is sitting at the bedside watching death slowly approach. So often I have walked into a room when family is standing at the side of the room, watching. Watching their special person dying. They don’t know what to do, what is okay to do, not […]
I was thinking about my day after I turned out the light tonight. I always ask myself these questions and thought I would share my thoughts with you to plant the seed of what life is about. While I lay in the dark waiting for sleep to come I asked myself: Where did I have […]
Hospice takes care of people the doctors are having a difficult time fixing; people the doctors probably can’t fix. What does hospice do? Hospice helps people live with the greatest possible comfort during the limited time they have left. It is interesting that a person who can’t be fixed, who is approaching death through disease, […]
Over the years, I have given inservice trainings on a variety of hospice-related topics to various hospitals, Grand Rounds, or monthly physician’s meetings.I talked about end of life care and the ways hospice does and does not fit into the medical model. It was always a hard sell. It seemed at every meeting a physician […]
It seems it isn’t until we are told our life may be ending that we begin to appreciate what we have generally taken for granted. I suppose working with end of life situations all these years gives me more awareness of what a gift having a working body and mind is. I’m aware of the […]
Most religions of the world teach us that when we are dead, we are in a better place. I add to that that being dead is easy while being alive is very hard. SO why do we have such a hard time letting a loved one die when treatment is not working? When extraordinary measures are […]
