What Happens When We Die?
I received the question, “What happens when we die and do I believe in reincarnation? I’m going to interpret the question to be asking what happens at the moment of...
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
Death
Nancy's Story, Harry and Lila
I had the pleasure of spending three days with a man and his wife. We’ll call the man Harry and his wife Lila. The days were spent mainly feeding Harry,...
Kim and Joan's Story
The following story had been written by one of our Excela Health Hospice nurses, Kim Kistler. I had read it about 2 years ago and always remembered it as such...
A story from Nancy, a Hospice nurse in Florida
I think it’s a great idea to share stories and learn from each other. I learn something new with every case. It’s funny, because nobody but a hospice nurse truly...
How Do You Help Someone Convert From a Full Code to a No Code?
It will be our time to die. When the doctors have said, “I can’t fix you” it is time to reconsider what medicine can do for us. Medicine can prolong...
Beware of Life Expectancy Numbers
Beware of anyone who puts a number on how long someone has to live. There are so many factors that affect the time of our gradual death that the closest...
Palliative Sedation
The question, "Will you discuss palliative sedation?" has come up several times so I am putting my response in this section rather than the Comments. Palliative Sedation is a term...