Something to Think About

a blog on end of life

We love sharing helpful info on our blog.

About the BK Team
All The Ways We Have For Saying Our Final Goodbyes

We used to have grandma’s body “laid out” in the parlor and family and friends came to our home with support and food. Grandma died in the home and we...

Another Aspect of Grief That I Didn’t Know Until Now

This is another aspect of grief I didn’t know until now that I am living it. Who am I if I am only one? What have I wanted to do...

The Part of Grief You Don't Know ---Until You Do

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. 

Why Don't I Cry?

The showing and expressing of emotions is so individual, expressing our grief is individual also. Some cry, some show anger, some depression, some “tough it up" and move forward, some...

In A Time Of Overwhelming Loss article by End of Life Expert, Barbara Karnes, RN about grief and bereavement

When someone we know or are close to dies we expect to grieve. We recognize our sadness but often we don’t recognize our impulsiveness to clean the house, or our...

NHPCO Hospice Innovator, Barbara Karnes, RN speaks to those who are unable to be with their loved one at the time of death. www.bkbooks.com

People are dying and in a manner we are not used to. We, in America, have become accustomed to having our loved one either at home with family close, or...

Did the AIDS Epidemic Set Us Up To Handle COVID-19? by Barbara Karnes, RN

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...

HOSPICE DEATH CALL~ How To Comfort A Family You've Never Met by Barbara Karnes RN

We do this all the time. We enter tense situations where people are frightened and unsure, with people who have never seen us before. This is what we do: We create...

"One Lone Tear", Dementia At End Of Life by Barbara Karnes

The guilt, frustration, uncertainty, and helplessness of family caregivers is as much a problem to our healthcare system as the patient with dementia...

IT HAPPENED FOR A REASON? Death Of A Child by Barbara Karnes, RN

I suggest writing a letter to the person that died and saying from your heart what you need to say that you didn't say before. I recommend that you write...

The Nursing Home Blues by Barbara Karnes, RN www.bkbooks.com

As we get older, life presents us with different challenges. We adapt to them in the same way we have lived our life and dealt with all the challenges in...

Deathbed Promises by Barbara Karnes, RN www.bkbooks.com

We need to look at the promises made, evaluate them as to: can it be done, should it be done, and am I willing to do it?