Something to Think About

It is hard to comprehend that our special person will die no matter what we do. No matter how many treatments, how much medicine, or how much food we give,...

So often I have walked into a room when family is standing at the side of the room, watching. Watching their special person dying...

First, there is no perfect relationship. Life is a learn-by-trial adventure. It’s hard work, not always smiles and happiness.

What do you say to someone to get them to accept hospice? Well, one thing to say after explaining the services hospice offers is to ask what they think will...

If I could sit beside you at the bedside, this is what I would place in your hands. Whether you’re a family member, a friend, a caregiver, or an end-of-life...

How do we interact with someone dying a sudden death? The same way we would react with someone dying a gradual death.

The experience of dying a gradual death is an important, integral part of life. It is an opportunity to write our final chapter, to define the ending of our story...

Just as we have to go through an intensive process to enter this world, so do we go through labor to leave it.

We need to explain the way most people die — especially the not so pretty parts. This includes the sounds, movements, pees, poops, frowns, grimaces, and the struggles that accompany...

When we see our special person struggling, we, the watchers, think something pathological is happening or we think the professionals are not doing enough to provide proper care...

We used to have role models on what dying really looks like. People died at home, in their own bed. Family and friends gathered — held a vigil, so to speak. When...

As end of life approaches, people start looking at their life; what they’ve accomplished, not done, who they have touched, interacted with, and the relationships they have or have not built...

People don’t die like they do in the movies. Mom is not going not going to say some profound words, close her eyes and be dead...

The space between birth and death is the most important part of life YET we somehow go through the living part unaware. In a hurry, with a great deal of tension, and very little...

I see Death Cafes as the start of a conversation; the start of opening ourselves up to exploring end of life issues; the start of breaking the belief that if I talk...

By not writing out our end of life wishes, organizing our material affairs, and talking to those involved, we are putting ourselves and those close to us in the hands, minds, and...

Because of knowledge we’ve lost when people began dying in places other than home, we judge approaching death by the treatments and procedures used in getting people better...

Someone has to have the courage to say “We’ve done the best we can. We can’t fix you. Let us help you have some quality time”.

It has been almost six months since my husband of 62 years died. As an end of life educator I have taught about loss and grief, and even wrote a booklet about it. BUT...

Our body is programmed to die. We are born. We experience, and then we die...

support people who are dyingBeing involved with end of life care is not something most people want to do, so what brings you?