Here to Eternity End of Life Care

What are your thoughts?! I love it! If I didn’t already have my funeral arranged I would look into this!

Eco-Responsible Furniture: This Bookshelf Can Be Reassembled Into A Coffin After The Owner’s Death Designer William Warren created a set of bookshelves that will last you a lifetime: they can be reassembled as a coffin.

What really is on the other side?!

Pronounced Dead for 20 Minutes - What He Saw and How it Changed His Life Forever See the Follow Up Here: https://youtu.be/qaA4nQIMdwYScott Drummond shares his amazing experience of what he felt and saw when he was pronounced dead for 20 m...

An article to ponder…

What a Hospice Physician Who Interviewed 1,400 Patients Can Tell Us About Dying Visions and vivid dreams are end-of-life experiences that are seldom talked about. They often include reunions with deceased loved ones — and can provide dying patients with profound comfort.

They called it ′′ the hand of God ′′
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It's the idea of some nurses to comfort isolated patients in the ward due to Covid-19. Two disposable gloves tied and full of hot water, simulating impossible human contact due to insulation in the facilities: ′′ I've realized This hot water glove - said Brazilian nurse Lidian Melo - to improve my patient's perfusion and better saturation: I also hope the patient feels like someone is holding his hand ".



📷 Nursing Changed My Life

Love this idea...even when we can’t be there

Almost there...off to the house of commons

Senate passes amended version of assisted dying bill after days of debate | CBC News Senators overwhelmingly approved Wednesday a bill to expand access to medical assistance in dying — with amendments that would relax access even more than the government has proposed.

This is exciting news!

Senate votes to expand Canadians' access to assisted death | CBC News Senators voted Wednesday to expand Canada's assisted dying regime to allow individuals who fear losing mental capacity to make advance requests for medical help to end their lives.

One of my classmates. I’m thinking of hosting my own death cafe. Who would be interested in hearing about what these are about?

Online Death Cafe addresses silence, fear of death A local artist and death doula, Corey Matthews (Hardeman), is set to co-host the first online Death Cafe in Prince George this weekend. The event is intended as an open forum for discussion around the topic and experience of end of life. Matthews says her goals are for attendees to “form connectio...

What Is Advance Care Planning?
Advance care planning involves learning about the types of decisions that might need to be made, considering those decisions ahead of time, and then letting others know—both your family and your health care providers—about your preferences. These preferences are often put into an advance directive, a legal document that goes into effect only if you are incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself. This could be the result of disease or severe injury—no matter how old you are. It helps others know what type of medical care you want.

An advance directive also allows you to express your values and desires related to end-of-life care. You might think of it as a living document—one that you can adjust as your situation changes because of new information or a change in your health.

I can help you create yours. Message me today to get started. I still have some volunteer hours to get so if this is something you need, I can help!

What is a Doula?!

The word Doula is from ancient Greek and means a woman who serves. Today, it refers to a person trained to provide support either to the dying or pregnant.

End-of-Life Doulas may provide services ranging from ensuring your legal documents are in order (will, trusts, funeral arrangements, and so on) to vigil planning to arranging disposition of the body after transition.

Some even think of their End-of-Life Doula as a project manager for their transition. They rely on the Doula to communicate with loved ones, arrange the vigil setting, coordinate appointments, plan meal delivery, coordinate offers of assistance from friends. This type of oversight and management can free you and your family to focus on being fully present to the journey at hand.

We are alive at a time when the approach to and outlook on death is evolving. Many are reclaiming their journey by expressing their desires and preferences for end-of-life treatment, dying at home, having loved ones care for the body after death, and opting for home funerals. An End-of-Life Doula can provide numerous resources and information for self-directing your transition.

*Covid-19 Update: Unfortunately, being safe and wise during the pandemic limits our in-person contact and how I fulfill my services. We can meet via phone calls, video calls (using Zoom or FaceTime), and outdoors as weather permits. We can be creative!

You matter because you are you. And you are the only one in the world, and we will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully but to live until you die. ~ Dame Cicely Saunders, MD

Most death doula services come in three phases.

The first is planning and preparation, which involves helping to get a terminal patient’s affairs in order and asking some tough questions that call for honest answers. Where does that person want to die? Who do they want present for those final moments? What do they absolutely need to say or do before they’re gone?

The first phase often addresses the dying individual’s regrets and unfinished business, as well as any advance directives, wills, etc. Also referred to as “legacy work,” such planning makes it easier for family to understand and respect the dying person’s wishes.

I can advocate for all of the things that need to happen,” allowing the family to just be with the client and cherish those final moments.”

That second phase is called the vigil, usually the last four or five days of the dying person’s life where end-of-life doulas and family members spend more time at their bedside.

During this vigil a soothing space for the dying with soft music and dim lighting is presented. Sometimes adding a favorite scent with aromatherapy. Most times just gentle massage of client’s arms, holding their hands and just being there.

And in those final moments as they take their last breaths, I comfort them with what they most want to hear, be it Bible verses, soothing music or just someone to say it is ok to let go.

The final phase of a death doula’s work addresses survivors’ grief. This involves circling back with the family a few weeks after their loved one’s death to check on their emotional well-being.

End-of-life doulas do console families, but are not licensed grief counselors and will refer families to such resources if necessary.