Something to Think About

Dear Barbara, I recently had a meeting with a family that was referred to hospice from a facility. They had about 10 family members at the meeting. The topic of...

Barbara, I have a 23 year old daughter that has a chronic illness. She says she is tired of fighting. I don't want to lose her. I am lost.
 Having...

I appreciate how much you love your mother. I see the challenge you are dealing with in her attitude and behavior. As much as we love someone our feelings can...

The process of a gradual death from disease takes two to four months (old age with no disease takes longer). Three things are the sign posts that say the dying...

Grief is a reaction to loss. Loss equates to a death, a death of something or someone. Death comes in many ways, many forms. There is the death of a...

Question: How much is comprehended by the patient as they approach end of life? Do they know who is present, if someone is absent? How does the patient feel knowing...

I wrote this post as a follow up to last week's post, The Final Hours Before Death. To: End of life doulas, in-home caregivers, hospice nurses, social workers and chaplains,...

When someone is dying a gradual death from disease and is hours tominutes from death they don't need a doctor, nurse, social worker, or evena chaplain. They need someone who...

Over the years people have told me stories of a friend or neighbor who was dealing with end of life issues. They then have asked that I call that person...

We have all sorts of fears around dying and death so we keep thoughts of end of life at bay. We are like ostriches who bury their heads in the...

October 15 was National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I’ve been asked to write about the grief experienced with the loss of a baby through miscarriage or stillbirth. I...

I know “dying of a broken heart” is used frequently when death comes as a result of a tragic life event. I’m not sure that is actually why the person...

Having friends, interacting with others, is an important part of that living. Even introverts need one or two people with whom to relate. I don’t know how old you are,...

QUESTION: I am a 30 year old woman working as a psychology intern at a local hospital. My engagement in the hospice program has me thinking a lot about my...

QUESTION: What do you think of use of oxygen at the end of life? – Does it hasten or prolong death? I consider use of oxygen at end of life...

QUESTION: My question is about when someone with advanced dementia is in that sort of vague pre-active dying period, say those months in and out of the hospital, the time...

Then one day I got a phone call saying the baby was found dead in its crib---SIDS Only we didn’t call it Sudden Infant Death Syndrome then. It was just...

QUESTION: Please expound upon the "Labor of Dying" mentioned in this blog. Dying from disease and old age has a process to it. That process begins two to four months...

No one wants to be the bearer of bad news. Americans are a death denying society. We view death as the enemy and a failure: something to be feared and...

If we talk about dying, death or even make our advanced directives and a will then it must mean that we are going to die---soon. My husband and I were...

Shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer this letter was written to family by Truette Wayne Frank (March 6, 1919 to July 27, 1998). I have asked permission from his...