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I Just Wanted Her for One More Day

Posted on March 21, 2020 - by Larry Patten

This is an excerpt from Larry Patten’s A Companion for the Hospice Journey, which is available on Amazon or though his website Hospice Matters. Several years ago, our hospice team gathered to discuss the day’s work. Not long after we began, a veteran nurse wept when sharing about the death of one of her assigned patients. It was a child, not yet school age. The nurse had cared for and supported her tiny patient since birth. How can any infant or child (and their families) be burdened with the phrase, “hospice appropriate?” And yet they are. Family, friends, doctors and […]

Stay Connected, Strong, and Creative

Posted on March 20, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

Heidi and I recently had an online get-together through Facebook Live with our friend, Alan Pedersen. During our discussion, we talked about coping strategies for these uncertain times due to fear over the health and financial impact from the Coronavirus (COVID-19). It’s normal to experience anxiety and stress right now. Even more so, those that have lost loved ones to illnesses can experience triggers from the current health concerns. What We Can Do While we can’t make things go back to the way they were, we have control over what we can do now, including adhering to all the current […]

Early Grief: Anticipating Loss Before it Happens

Posted on March 18, 2020 - by Harriet Hodgson

This excerpt is from Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief by Harriet Hodgson, BS, MA and Lois Krahn, MD, available from Amazon. Early grief is a feeling of loss before a death or dreaded event occurs. Though anticipatory grief is the correct medical term for this process, it’s a mouthful to say and read, so we use early grief instead. Early grief may strike at any time and for different reasons. You may grieve for an aging parent who suffered a debilitating stroke. You may grieve when you find out that your company is downsizing and, according to the rumor […]

Grievers are Heroes

Posted on March 15, 2020 - by Basia Mosinski

The following excerpt is from LOST to FOUND: Surviving the Death of Your Child, by Basia Mosinski, available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1720222657 Grievers are “heroes” and here’s why… we eventually got out of bed. We eventually decided to live instead of praying to die. How do I know this? Because in the work that I do with grieving people, I hear grief journey stories that are proof that many people do indeed survive the death of their child or loved one. Each person who lives another day chooses to live to honor their child or children who no longer have that choice. […]

When Death Comes Quickly

Posted on March 13, 2020 - by Larry Patten

This is an excerpt from Larry Patten’s A Companion for the Hospice Journey which is available on Amazon or though his website Hospice Matters. What about a loved one who dies quickly? I don’t mean sudden, traumatic deaths such as fatal accidents, natural disasters like wherever the most recent earthquake has hit, or from bullets in war zones (and sadly in schools, at concerts, and on city streets). What about the 30% of deaths in hospice that occur within seven days? And within those national averages, some patients are in hospice for barely 24 hours. Being with a hospice for […]

Does Unresolved Grief Cause Divorce?

Posted on March 11, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

A recent Facebook Live discussion focused on the issue of whether unresolved grief can become a point of division in a relationship and become so problematic that it leads to divorce. However, beyond just impacting those in the direct relationship, the aftermath can also involve other family members. Heidi and I received a question from Julia that led us to choose this topic for discussion. She shared with us that her parents were getting divorced after 40 years of marriage because neither of them had been happy since they lost their daughter — Julia’s sister — 15 years prior. The […]

Unthinkable

Posted on March 9, 2020 - by Lois Schaffer

Excerpted from The Unthinkable: Life, Loss and a Mother’s Mission to Ban Illegal Guns, available on Amazon. Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life without them is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. — Langston Hughes I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge – myth is more potent than history – dreams are more powerful than facts – hope always triumphs over experience – laughter is the cure for grief – love is stronger than death. — Robert Fulghum Dreams reflect the essence of the innermost thoughts and feelings of the human soul. In some […]

Coronavirus Versus 9/11 Fear is Real

Posted on March 9, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

. In today’s Facebook Live discussion, Heidi and I talked about the similarities in feeling between the current Coronavirus epidemic and 9/11 in 2001. In both situations, there is fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and concern over death and dying. Although 9/11 was more sudden than the Coronavirus epidemic has been building over time. Both have released triggers in many people related to past losses. For example, a child who lost a parent may now fear that the Coronavirus may take their other parent away. Even those that suffered during 9/11 are starting to feel anxiety and dread return. This is especially […]

Three-Year-Old Brings Message from Deceased Brother

Posted on March 8, 2020 - by Christine Duminiak

This is an excerpt from Heaven Talks To Children, which is available on Amazon “Shockingly, [my 3-year old son Trever] said that [our deceased son] Tyler was not up in the sky, but was sitting on the ground beside us, and that Tyler had told him to tell Daddy and me not to cry on Monday. Trevor then asked me what would happen on Monday. I told him about the plans for Tyler’s burial. He cried a bit, but as he looked to our right he nodded and smiled. I asked “Why are you smiling?” He said, “Tyler won’t be […]

Ground Hog Days

Posted on March 5, 2020 - by Neal Raisman

This is an excerpt from Standing on One Leg by Neal Raisman available from the author at iduhpres@hotmail.com The first weeks and months were like the movie, Groundhog Day. I began each day the same way. Waking. Feeling a free floating anger. Seeing his body on the floor and shuddering in the reality of his death. Struggling to push myself out of bed. Not wanting to get up. The bed and sleep being the only place and time when I could momentarily forget reality. Sleep became a blessing. A time when the horror of that day did not repeat itself […]