Something to Think About

Working with end of life in the medical field often leaves us feeling like outliers. The medical model is to fix people. Working with dying generally isn’t addressed in training. (It’s...

Once we get up the courage to call hospice, we want to see you immediately.  Actually, we needed to see you, hear your guidance and advice, and receive your services yesterday. Families...

Our role models from movies and TV show us that dying is gentle, often poetic, certainly not scary or messy. Movies make dying look comfortable.

As caregivers, we want so much to do the “right thing” for our special person. We know death is coming but still try to do all we can to stop...

When we begin the gradual dying process our personality tends to intensify. If we are an angry person we will get angrier. If we have a gentle personality we will...

Our base nature comes out when we are in pain, other worldly, and on high doses of all kinds of medications.  We are unconsciously expressing the terrible situation we were...

With old age and no active debilitating disease process, all the signs of approaching death (less eating, more sleeping and gradual decline in social interests) occur, BUT they occur over...

There is a huge void in our medical system that so many families living with dementia fall into. These families have a loved one too sick and require too much...

The elderly, after a fall or illness, often are not much interested in eating. If there are no other health issues, they gradually return to normal eating. In the meantime...

Dying isn't like it is in the movies. We don't know what it is like to die from disease or old age and while everyone is going to do it,...

Dementia causing illnesses, by whatever name we classify them, are becoming more and more prominent. Dementia, and how to care for people with it, has become a big healthcare issue...

As end of life professionals we have to carefully walk a line.  We are in the tenuous position of caring intimately for adult strangers who often do act as children. ...

In those last five months I tried for us to live in the present, to build good memories, to love, give, and live in the moment...

Life puts us in challenging situations. Often times it is not where we want to be. Sometimes it seems we don’t have a choice...

By Your Side offers guidance in the area of making choices: cure, life sustaining, comfort care, making advanced directives, and funeral planning. It details signs of approaching death (what to look...

The more you learn about end of life, what happens, what it looks like, the less fear you will bring to the experience and with less fear you can get...

I often get the question, "How do I start an end of life discussion? How do I get my family to talk about what they want their dying to be...

I keep shouting from the roof top to hospitals, hospices, home health care agencies, and nursing facilities, “TAKE CARE OF YOUR PEOPLE!!!!!” How can we expect healthcare workers to continue...

With all the loss that we are experiencing during this pandemic, it isn't just physical death that we are mourning. End of Life Expert Barbara Karnes, RN has some grief...

 Know that all of these signs of approaching death, whether indicating months or weeks, are just guideposts. Some people will show all of them...

Sometimes a person who is approaching death will suddenly seem to get better. They may become more alert, want to eat, or begin talking with us again. This if often...