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My Experience With Hospice Care

Posted on May 20, 2011 - by Paula Ezop

When the man that you have been married to for 35 years, and whom you love with all of your heart and soul, is gravely ill, you are numb and filled with heartache like you have never felt before. I went from a confident woman able to make important decisions to a woman who was lost, alone, and unsure of even the simplest thing. I no longer trusted my judgment – my world had been devastated, and I was emotionally and physically exhausted. So, when I was asked to make a decision about in-hospital hospice care for my husband, all […]

An incredible love

Posted on May 20, 2011 - by admin

It was 1991 when I first met Peggy, my surgical oncologist’s nurse. She was a small framed woman in her late forties, no taller than 5’2”. With every visit, she greeted me with a warm hug and an even warmer smile. Little did I know that behind that grace filled smile was a woman battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma and in the years to come, breast and skin cancer. Over the years, after my visits to the hospital ended, Peggy and I corresponded with yearly Christmas cards. It wasn’t until 2007 that I received a letter from Peggy informing me she wasn’t […]

Therapy is Working for this First-Timer

Posted on May 19, 2011 - by Michelle Gallucci

Spring is in the air, Easter and Passover have been celebrated with family and friends, but that special someone’s chair will be unoccupied. Having someone to talk to is the most important piece in healing. As for me, I’m a closed book. I rarely talk about my feelings; most of the time people come to me to solve their problems. Having a therapist when dealing with a loss is key to understand everything you are feeling or thinking. Picking a therapist is like picking a car; you have to have the right connection with them. I went through three therapists […]

Hospice Employee Experiences the Other Side

Posted on May 18, 2011 - by Deb Kosmer

For the past ten years, hospice has been a huge part of my life and its impact on me has been immense. I have worked all of that time in one agency as a hospice social worker or bereavement coordinator. I have been privileged to be a part of patients and families lives before the death and their families after the death. Every hospice experience is as unique as the individuals who are living it. Every family comes with its own unfinished business and differing opinions about what hospice and what dying is supposed to be. Regardless of similarities and […]

Is it OK to Feel Joy During the Grief Process?

Posted on May 16, 2011 - by David Roberts

The journey after the death of a loved one is emotionally draining and physically exhausting, particularly in the early stages of grief (which I see as minimally, two years). It is also easy to feel some guilt because of the moments of joy we do experience during early grief. We may question whether it is ok to experience joy because of the thought that we are dishonoring our deceased loved ones. Those moments of joy will present themselves whether we want them to or not. When they do, embrace them for however long they last. You may find that those […]

Snow and Sibling-Loss

Posted on May 15, 2011 - by Evan Rieger

Snow fell from the cold winter skies when my beloved sister was buried. Miniature, delicate snowflakes seemed so out of place in the cemetery filled with grief, tears and darkness. I stared into the sky, away from the casket, and became completely captivated by the gorgeous snowfall. I needed something to distract my mind, even if only slightly. Everyone who surrounded me — my best friends, my family — I loved them more than anything. Watching them all break into tears and show that they too are human beings, and not gods, was quite a lot to handle. I found […]

I want my daddy back

Posted on May 14, 2011 - by admin

I am

Turning Over a New Faith

Posted on May 14, 2011 - by Kevin Quiles

Today, some have seriously thought of exchanging a theology once handed down to them by family members for another belief system that in their minds can better tackle the questions that accompany pain. God, as they understand God, just doesn’t seem to ease the emotional and mental anguish brought about by unexpected and vicious events. My hope in this brief letter is to inspire those of you who are experiencing such a theological shift. Unlike a call to maintain the “faith of your fathers,” my goal here is to encourage you to grab hold of whatever new ideas that bring […]

Walking Backwards into the Future

Posted on May 13, 2011 - by KimBoo York

Mistakes haunt us. Regrets torment us. Grief – for any loss – rips at us. We pick at these wounds hoping for miraculous healing. We study them, trying to figure out what went wrong. We relive them in our minds over and over looking for what we could have done differently. We waste years staring at our past, walking backwards into the future. Let me boil down the essence of 10,000 self-help books on the market right now: turn around, put your back to the past and look at the path ahead. No lie: it’s the hardest thing to do, […]

Dreams of Death, Thoughts that Empower

Posted on May 13, 2011 - by K. Paul Stoller

As I write this story, it is Easter Sunday 2011, a point that I pray will not be relevant to anyone reading this in the weeks and months to come. Before my late son was born, I began to have a series of dreams that I call the “Royal” dreams, because they had something to do with either Prince Charles or Lady Di, and sometimes both. I remember one that took place in the 1980s, with Prince Charles giving me a long dissertation on his interests, and I didn’t get a word in edgewise. I found these dreams, if nothing […]