Something to Think About

In the hours to minutes before death, gather family and significant others. Encourage each person to spend some time alone with the person dying. This is the time to talk...

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...

...That caregivers put so much energy, time, love, and concern into taking care of their person that they can become blind to or just plain don’t want to see the...

I am hearing stories about the lack of professional staff training for new hires, which led me to wonder about volunteer training...

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

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...

Now I have to learn how to be a widow. How to create a new life, a new way of being. I am truly alone. 

The role of any end of life worker is to begin teaching  immediately, on the first visit -- teaching about approaching death, what to look for, and what to do. That’s...

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...

Addressing the timelines of approaching death also neutralizes the false hope that our person will get better, that there is more time.

Dying patterns are centered around food, sleep and socialization. Assess those three areas and you can track the dying process.

In the months and weeks before death, medical intervention and medical tools are an active part of care. Pain management, skin care, mouth care,and bowel and urine care are all...

As for the “signs of what is to come” for someone who is young and dying, those signs are also the same for everyone, young and old. People dying from...

All the work we do leads up to the moment of death. Our goal is to guide and support those present through the moment the last breath occurs.

Just think of a woman in labor and what she is thinking about—-getting that baby out. The person that is dying is in labor also, working to leave the physical...

We cannot put 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 anyone can...

In the months before death when the patient is still alert, still actively engaging, watch for clues, for openings to help bring the "what has life been about" thoughts forward...

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...

Dying isn’t about the disease a person has. It is about the emotional, communal response to the person dying from the disease. It doesn’t require medical intervention. It requires comfort...

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

...Rapid breathing like your dad was doing is exactly where a small bit of morphine (5 ml is small) helps slow down those 40/50 breaths a minute to a more...