The Three Signs of Approaching Death From Disease or Old Age
Know that all of these signs of approaching death, whether indicating months or weeks, are just guideposts. Some people will show all of them...
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
Hydration or dehydration
Does Our Personality Change As We Approach Death?
First, what is meant by “dying person”? In the months before death most people really don’t believe they are dying. “Other people die, not me. There will be a cure,...
In This Time of Great Fear, DYING 101
People don’t die like they do in the movies—alive one minute, saying something profound and dead the next. There is a way that the body dies. A way it is...
Did the AIDS Epidemic Set Us Up To Handle COVID-19?
There are many of the same circumstances with today’s coronavirus as we faced with HIV/AIDS in the early years— lack of medical knowledge, lack of guidance, and fear. I think...
We've Just Begun Social Distancing~ Here Are My Thoughts
Isolation from others is teaching me this about my self ——- I do a lot for others, for their thoughts of me, why else do I wear makeup? Get dressed?...
Developing End of Life Expertise
You have to walk the walk before you can talk the talk. Learn from your patient/family interactions. At the same time read everything you can get your hands on...
Alzheimer's, Cancer and Hospice
Dementia isn’t a terminal illness in that it doesn’t have a limited prognosis. It is like dying from old age, it takes longer. Alzheimer’s, or any form of dementia, is...
Setting Up a Hospice Program
...You really don't need a doctor or nurse at the bedside when someone is dying. You need someone who understands the natural way people die and can educate and guide...
8 Things to Consider Regarding End of Life Pain Management
Often dying looks painful to the people watching. Dying is a struggle to get out of the body. There are sounds that ordinarily would indicate discomfort but, when a person...
I Hear You, But I Don't Understand
...I remember being with my mother in my hospice Medical Director’s office. He was explaining to my mother his medical findings as they related to her illness. I, being a...
My Personal Integrity Was Wounded Tonight
When hospice began it was outside of the medical model. It provided end of life care based on quality, not quantity, of life. It recognized when physical healing couldn't be...
Six Months To Live? A Doctor's Prediction
So many factors affect the length of our labor to leave this world that it is imprudent to put a specific time frame on approaching death. The closest we can...