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...
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
Not Eating
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...
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...
BIRTH BACKWARDS, A Daughter's Death
At 8:17pm she took one more breath and then at 8:18 there was one more which I describe as hot caramel pouring onto vanilla ice cream. It was the most...
Explaining Pet Death To Children
Since my new booklet A Place In My Heart, When a Pet Dies has come out I have had several questions about children and pet death. It got me thinking...
A PLACE IN MY HEART, When a Pet Dies
We can be as much at a loss when our pet is dying as we are when a person is dying but there doesn’t seem to be the support and...
Calories Count
When living with a life threatening illness we are eating for two---our physical body and our disease. In most cases the disease eats before we do. If we don’t eat,...
Caring for the Alzheimer's Patient
Living with someone who has dementia is a daily challenge. It requires the constant reminder that this person is not who they once were. It presents the challenge of learning...
What Does The Future Hold For Mom With ALS?
ALS is horrific disease, not that there is a “good” disease but ALS traps a good mind in a slowly deteriorating, non functioning body affecting not only the ability to...