Something to Think About

There are really just two ways to die: fast or gradual. Fast death occurs quickly by way of an accident, a heart attack, a stroke or suicide. A person is...

I wrote this poem one day after seeing two particular patients. One was a woman in her 40's who was working through the anger of not being able to see...

Linda, an RN living in Arkansas, is sharing her story with us. I remember Michael so clearly because of his last wish and how the hospice team helped to make...

Someone asked me to write about “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” At first I thought it was a prank, and maybe it was, but the question made me wonder how the...

I had the pleasure of spending three days with a man and his wife. We’ll call the man Harry and his wife Lila. The days were spent mainly feeding Harry,...

The following story had been written by one of our Excela Health Hospice nurses, Kim Kistler. I had read it about 2 years ago and always remembered it as such...

I had a hospice patient who was a retired builder and lived in the country. Two days after I began taking care of him I also began taking care of...

I think it’s a great idea to share stories and learn from each other. I learn something new with every case. It’s funny, because nobody but a hospice nurse truly...


The death rattle is not always present. Those people that have more fluid or are more hydrated as they approach death, are the ones most likely to experience this natural...

When do we talk about end of life issues with others? Right now, while we are healthy and our thoughts are not clouded with fear. Right now, we can make...

Perhaps you’ve heard it said: Having a loved one with dementia is the long goodbye. We lose the person we know long before their body dies. As with all terminal...

Each person is unique so there is no sure formula for when to talk about end of life issues but here are some ideas to consider --- Everyone has the...

Visualize a table in front of an open window. There are stacks of paper on the table, tidy, organized stacks. A slight breeze comes through the window and rustles the...

Our seasonal holidays are here and for those of us who have had loved ones die this year the holidays will be a particularly challenging time. Something to think about:...

Every so often a person comes onto hospice service and their condition improves. When a person’s condition stabilizes hospice takes them off the program until they begin to decline again...

It will be our time to die. When the doctors have said, “I can’t fix you” it is time to reconsider what medicine can do for us. Medicine can prolong...

Beware of anyone who puts a number on how long someone has to live. There are so many factors that affect the time of our gradual death that the closest...

Question: "I am ready to die, why haven't I?" Answer: There is a process to dying from disease and old age--withdrawal, increased sleep and decreased food and fluid intake. Part...

QUESTION: Explain the different ways members of the same family experience grief. Grief is a lot of emotions rolled into one package. Each person will experience and show these emotions...

In the months before a gradual death we really don’t believe death will happen to us or to those we love. In the days to weeks before gradual death occurs...

QUESTION: “What about the lack of desire to do anything but sleep?” When a person has entered the dying process three things begin to happen: their eating decreases, sleep increases...