By John F. Wasik — 2018
Hospice is less about what we think modern medicine should do and more about finding a small sense of serenity in one’s final moments.
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"But now we’re asked — and sometimes forced — to carry grief as a solitary burden. And the psyche knows we are not capable of handling grief in isolation." - Francis Weller
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The mismatch between the knowledge and the longing is perhaps the most anguishing of all human experiences.
The truth is that many of us just don’t know the right words to comfort someone who is dying.
Too few Americans entering life's final phase are availing themselves of high-quality hospice care, despite the fact that Medicare covers the expense, experts say.
The five stages of coping with dying (DABDA), were first described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her classic book, "On Death and Dying," in 1969.
This is a general picture. Individual experiences are unique and influenced by many factors, such as the particular illness and the types of medications being taken, but there are some physical changes that are fairly common.
Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care created guidelines to help family caregivers better understand the physical changes of the end-of-life process, as well as the emotional and spiritual end-of-life changes taking place.
Each person's journey to death is unique. Some people have a very gradual decline; others will fade quickly.
Whether you are confronting the end of your own life or the loss of a loved one, death is a certainty of life that everyone will face. Even so, knowing that it's inevitable doesn't mean you'll feel prepared for dealing with death and the grief that follows.
Tami Simon interviews Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush, who have written a new beautiful book, called Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying. It explores what it means to live and die consciously, remembering who we really are, and illuminating the path that we all walk together.