Dementia Doesn't Play By The Rules
QUESTION: My question is about when someone with advanced dementia is in that sort of vague pre-active dying period, say those months in and out of the hospital, the time...
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
Dynamics of Dying
Labor
QUESTION: Please expound upon the "Labor of Dying" mentioned in this blog. Dying from disease and old age has a process to it. That process begins two to four months...
Telling Bad News
No one wants to be the bearer of bad news. Americans are a death denying society. We view death as the enemy and a failure: something to be feared and...
Ideas For A New Hospice Nurse
If you teach your families well about the approaching end of life there will be no problems with them understanding the labor of dying. Having someone you care about dying is...
What Does The Future Hold For Mom With ALS?
ALS is horrific disease, not that there is a “good” disease but ALS traps a good mind in a slowly deteriorating, non functioning body affecting not only the ability to...
Overmedicating As Death Approaches
I received the following comment on my Blog. "They are overmedicating Mom” (The family said of hospice professionals). “Following a brief rally, she slept most of the time and died...
Why Hasn't Mom Died Yet??
QUESTION: What happens when we stop treatment and Mom doesn’t die? This is such a general question that it is hard to answer specifically but here are some ideas to...
Staff Concerned "We Are Starving Mom To Death"
Food is the body’s anchor to this planet. It is what keeps us going, gives us energy, grounds us. As death from disease approaches the body doesn’t want the grounding,...
The Best or the Worse in Us
Question: My father died just three days ago. Immediately following his death, my brother (my only sibling) immediately became controlling and started excluding me from all decisions, to the level...
Getting Closure At End of Life
QUESTION: My father and I have always had a difficult relationship. He is now approaching death. What do I do? There is no perfect relationship. Life is a series of...
Pain As Death Approaches
QUESTION: Please talk about end of life pain management. There is so much confusion around end of life pain management. Confusion regarding use of narcotics, fear of overdosing and addiction....
Confusion As End of Life Approaches
The phenomenon generally occurs in the weeks before death and can be accompanied with restlessness and agitation. Generally, medication is not required unless the confusion and restlessness puts the person...