If I Can't Speak For Myself... Wishes for End of Life
Have a conversation with those people that are closest to you about your ideas of “the perfect death”. “If I can’t speak for myself, here is what I want you...
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
Family
Unexpected Death of a Child
Dear Barbara, Please talk about unexpected youth death. In our minds we understand, that as sad as it is when an older adult dies,they have lived their life and death...
Distancing From The Dying
...There is no perfect relationship. There are good times and difficult times. Sometimes the difficulty we have with the person that is dying keeps us from being at the bedside....
A Chemical Straight Jacket, Dementia at End of Life
Dear Barbara, Will you talk about a chemical straight jacket at end of life? My mother is a dementia patient in a memory unit. Hospice now. They are giving increased...
Worker Bees, Watchers & Talkers~ Which Kind of Caregivers Are You?
Sometimes when we think that others think we are not doing enough, it may actually be us thinking that the others are not doing enough. When the worker bee caregiver...
When a Dream is Shattered
It is not too late to examine the lesson, to rethink your reaction to it and to put all those tormented thoughts and feelings to rest. I am not expecting...
16 Days Without Food or Water- How Long Can She Survive?
If she has had no water of any kind for 16 days I would expect her to die at anytime--maybe before I write this.
Does Morphine = Euthanasia in the Dying?
A great question. You have actually touched on a line of thinking that a lot of people have about the use of narcotics at end of life: that the narcotic...
Dangers of Morphine for the Dying
Dear Barbara, Talk about the dangers of giving morphine to one who is dying? I have written many articles on morphine yet I repeatedly get this question. What that tells...
Death As The Enemy
I was just on the phone with a woman who told me the doctor told her friend he was surprised she had lived this long with the disease having spread...
"If They Would Just Eat, Everything Would Be Better"
Dear Barbara, what are the physical changes in appearance during the dying process? Also talk about not forcing food upon the dying. The physical changes in appearance during the dying...
Pneumonia, The Old Man's Friend
Now, all this said, there are thin lines and points to debate, in what istreatment to get better and treatment for comfort. Is pneumonia related to alife threatening illness or...