Something to Think About

The elderly, after a fall or illness, often are not much interested in eating. If there are no other health issues, they gradually return to normal eating. In the meantime...

We tend to play the “elephant in the room” game at the mention of our missing loved one. “If we don’t talk about how sad we are feeling we won’t...

Dying isn't like it is in the movies. We don't know what it is like to die from disease or old age and while everyone is going to do it,...

Just think of a woman in labor and what she is thinking about—-getting that baby out. The person that is dying is in labor also, working to leave the physical...

Dementia causing illnesses, by whatever name we classify them, are becoming more and more prominent. Dementia, and how to care for people with it, has become a big healthcare issue...

As end of life professionals we have to carefully walk a line.  We are in the tenuous position of caring intimately for adult strangers who often do act as children. ...

This is where bereavement support groups come in. Support groups are for anyone experiencing a death. The groups are not for just those people having challenges in dealing with their...

We cannot put 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 anyone can...

We are not able to fix everyone. The physical body is programmed to die. It is made to die. So at some point the medical professionals will have to have...

Dying is not a medical event. It is a social, communal event. Dying is not a time for procedures or medications. It is time for support, guidance and reassurance FOR...

In those last five months I tried for us to live in the present, to build good memories, to love, give and live in the moment...

There is a reason dementia is referred to as the "long goodbye;" the mind is gone long before the body...

When life has run its course (however many years it is) our body begins to "wind down" much like it “wound up” in the beginning...

"How do you reach out to a non-religious person who believes the end is the end?" You don't...

Life puts us in challenging situations. Often times it is not where we want to be. Sometimes it seems we don’t have a choice...

In today’s hospice environment time spent with patients and families seem to be what agencies have the least to offer. My suggestion is the chaplain can fill in that time...

We support others in their belief system no matter what we believe. It is not about us...

As a hospice nurse I wrote a booklet to guide the families I worked with in understanding the signs of approaching death. I wanted the booklet to be short, direct, and gentle....

What if there was a doula to support a person during this journey? What if there was a person who was educated in the dynamics of dementia who became a...

From what you have told me I believe your mother's death was no one's fault, certainly not yours. Her body, after all the years of illness, couldn't continue and she...

I’ve always said I can teach anyone how to take care of someone who is dying, the physical, communication, supportive skills. It is the interpersonal, empathy, and heart skills that...