Something to Think About

We must always respect a person’s choices. Remember, we approach this final challenge in our life in the same manner we have approached all of our challenges. If a belief...

QUESTION: Could you write about the fear of dying from the perspective of a patient not willing to go on hospice due to his fear of death and dying? It...

This is a letter I received from Colleen Todd. She has given me permission to reprint this edited version. The love and beauty in this letter touched me greatly. It...

Having someone close to us in the dying process is so very sad but with a bit of knowledge it doesn’t have to be a bad experience...

There are pros and cons to telling a person they can’t be fixed. I've touched on some of them. I don't know the "right" answer. I do know that we...

Question: What about dying and coming to peace? A lot has been talked about people accepting and “coming to terms” with their approaching death. Even Elizabeth Kubler-Ross talked about acceptance...

QUESTION: How long can a body sustain without food and only take in nutritional liquid supplements? Because there are many influencing factors my answer won’t be definitive but I can...

I received an email from a woman I have been corresponding with for a year or so. She is struggling with caring for her mother in law, in her home,...

Questions Concerning Grief What are some of the feelings that a spouse expresses after their husband or wife passes? At first, most are just numb: they cry and are surprised...

QUESTION: Talk about denial. All of us deny the realities of life to some degree. The operative words here are “to some degree.” Some of us rely on denial more...

Question: Who decides it is time for you to die? Do we have input to this? Do we control our passing? I don’t know the answer to those questions. I’m...

Question: My 87 year old father has cancer and about six months to live. He will not tell his wife (my mother) or my sister who lives close by and...

We live inside of our bodies so it is no secret to us when death from disease or old age is close. We may not share the knowledge with anyone...

Frequently I will hear a person say “I am ready to die,” “I just want to die,” “Why am I not dead yet?” or “Why is this taking so long?”...

I have been at the bedside of many, many people at their exact moment of death. Those people have taught me what happens in the hours to minutes before death....

QUESTION: Please write about when a person is approaching death and they see or ask about people who have already died. In the weeks before death from disease a person...

Question: How do you handle your personal struggles when you have a family member or friend placed under hospice care and you are a hospice professional? How do you deal...

QUESTION: As toxins build in the body because your body isn’t working right anymore, what signs are there that you are shutting down? Stage 4 liver disease, hepatitis C. I...

QUESTION: Would you write about dying from Alzheimer's? There is a reason Alzheimer's is referred to as “the long goodbye.” From diagnosis until death it is generally a very long...

After food and sleep, the third area to look at to see if a person with a life threatening illness has entered the dying process is their social interactions with...

There is a saying, “Live each day as if it were your last.” It makes sense that the last day of our lives is the day we would want to...