Dying Scared
I get a lot of letters like the one I’ve edited below. We, as a culture, are so unprepared for witnessing a death. We have no accurate role models. We...
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
signs of dying
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...
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,...
The Silent Scream, Grimaces, and Scary Faces As We Die... Why?
There is a labor to dying. It is hard work for us to get out of our body (some harder than others). Think of the little chick that works, struggles...
Caring for a Dying Son
Our children are not supposed to die before we do. I cannot think of any grief more intense than watching our child deteriorate before our eyes. We grieve their dying...
How To Talk About Approaching Death
Our job as an end of life specialist is to address the elephant in the room, to be direct and honest in the gentlest way possible. We are not doing...
How To Help Families Care For Their Dying Loved One During Social Distancing
Hospices seem to be struggling with how to provide services now that being in homes and facilities is not an option. When we cannot rely on routines, when there is...
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...
Taking Some of the Fear Out of Dying Alone
I see families devastated by not being able to be with their loved one as they are dying. I am writing this for any person who is faced with a...
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?...
HOSPICE DEATH CALL~ How To Comfort A Family You've Never Met
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...