The Heart of Hospice, Episode 032
Barbara Karnes was one of our first guests on the podcast, and she returns as our very first guest to have a second interview. Barbara Karnes is a hospice pioneer who wrote “the little blue book” called, Gone From My Sight. In this episode she shares how a referral to hospice can be a win/win. We also talk about her newest book about coping with a pet’s death, A Place in My Heart.
To read Barbara’s thoughts about a reluctance to refer to hospice, visit her blog page here, and to learn more about her books and DVD’s, visit her website at BKBooks.com.
Related Product is A Place in My Heart.
2 comments
A wonderful interview! With heartfelt gratitude ~ thank you, dear Barbara, for sharing your wisdom with all of us ♥
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BK Books replied:
Hi to one of my favorite grief counselors. Thank you for your kind words. Blessings to you in the work you are doing. Barbara
I was told I was dying and was placed in Hospice in Oct 2016. By the end of Dec. I began to get better and was discharged in Jan 2017. While in Hospice, Barbara’s little blue book ‘Gone From My Sight" was about the most important item I had! The Hospice group gave me a copy of the book, which I still have, and I read it MULTIPLE times a day. I had this weird concept that I had to die “right”. To minimize my families suffering. That there were no do overs! I never did share the booklet with my family because I didn’t want them to know the “process” of dying and look at me and watch with expectations of what I should be going through “each day”. Understand that my thought process was not logical, but I share it because I KNOW that if I thought that way, I KNOW someone else does. I promise you, you’re not doing yourself or your family any good thinking that way. Spend your time loving your family , knowing that there really aren’t any do overs as you die and the “right” way to die is to give what time you have left to your family! They love you and the one thing that they’ll be grateful for is that at the end of your time, you gave as much of yourself as you had to them, loving them. …and share the book with them! They need to know what’s in the book too! That information is important to EVERYONE involved! Love each other. To not is the one thing that you truly can’t do over… Yes, I’m blessed! I’m still sick and I’ve been given another 6 years. At 60, I may have another 6 or I may have another 46, I have no way of knowing, but I have a mom pushing 80 and a dad that is 80, and I spend as much of my time loving them and thanking them for all they’ve given me over the years, including life, all of which wasn’t good, but it still taught me a lot! I guess my point is to be grateful for EVERYTHING!!! You learn something from it all! Grateful, grateful, grateful…
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BK Books replied:
Hi Shelly, thank you so much for sharing your experience and your thoughts with me. You have shared profound insights that would serve us all to live by. Blessings to you and your family. Barbara
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