None of us know what is in our future. How differently I think most of us would be living our lives if we had that insite to the future. Having worked in healthcare for over 30 years I have observed that one thing for sure is that no one can predict what his or her last years, months, days, hours or last breaths may look like. In society we have been groomed to not think about death, not talk about it, for if we do, it will come quickly. I equate that how frequently we may dream that we would like to win the lottery or inherit a large sum of money so we can retire. I dare guess that most of us reading this blog have not won the lottery nor inherited large sums of money so we can quit our jobs. While thoughts about death and dying can feel uncomfortable, scary and uncertain, they can also be loving times being surrounded by our families.
If the transition from living to dying is left to chance and circumstance, they can be sterile and lonely with rising emotions between family members. If planned well, they can be smooth, peaceful and graceful in the end. All too often a lack of understanding, planning and education lead to reactionary decisions. Is it really too difficult to think about what each of us would want if we could choose our ending? Learning about hospitals, nursing homes, and end of life decisions will not speed up our own mortality. Openly discussing, learning and educating ourselves and our loved ones on end of life topics will only prepare us well for this journey.
I welcome you to come along on my journey to share information about Doula’s, End of Life Topics, Hospitals and Nursing Homes. In this blog I will share my observations both personally and professionally on these and other topics. Healthcare alone is it’s own language, journey and environment. Adding in complex decision making and not knowing the medical language can set families up for an unpleasant and fearful experience. My goal is to share my knowledge and expertise so that when our life’s journey nears the end, we are not afraid and are comfortable in the plan we have in place. Thus we can have a Graceful Transition.
