Mission Statement
Providing practical, emotional and spiritual support to individuals and their loved ones through the stages of dying, death and bereavement.
Hospice palliative care aims to make the last months of life comfortable, peaceful and dignified for patients and their caregivers by providing care, support, respite and advocacy. Our trained Hospice volunteers work as part of a caregiving team that could include community home nursing, doctors, hospital and facility staff, social workers and spiritual leaders.
We may be a bit behind the curve, but just discovered ZDoggMD and his amazing set of videos. Fun, informative, and very straightforward. You'll be seeing more of them on this page but in this one, he interviews a friend and co-worker about his experience of witnessing his father's death to prostate cancer and his grief. It's honest, insightful and a wonderful example of a man being wiling to express the full emotional range of his frustration, grief, AND the joy, humour and beauty that arises in the course of his father's dying process. So much wisdom here. You don't need to watch the whole thing, the important part is in the first 25 minutes.
Tom Talks About Losing His Father To Cancer
Tom Hinueber and I speak about his father's passing...and it gets surprisingly deep in between the usual humor that we both like to use to cope.
zdoggmd.com
What we’ve always called “the rally” now has a new technical term and its being studied. Our brains/bodies/hearts/minds are so fascinating! One thing we are mindful of though ... the last days rally doesn’t always happen so remember to say what you need to say today ... don’t wait!
“As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.” This story is filled with wonderful metaphors for what happens when we grieve.
If you need support in your grief please join our Thursday night grief support group by calling 250-352-2337.
If you need support in your grief please join our Thursday night grief support group by calling 250-352-2337.
Woman asked for advice on how to deal with grief, old man’s incredible reply captivates everyone
There is a goodbye in every hello, just as there is an end in every beginning. We all know that our inevitable finale is to leave this world, and hopefully we made an impact in this world and will …
positiveoutlooksblog.com
I can’t put my finger on how this piece touched me ... but it did! And it highlights how our hospice volunteers create moments of understanding and intimacy with clients who need that.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/opinion/disability-multiple-sclerosis-losing-touch.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/opinion/disability-multiple-sclerosis-losing-touch.html
Opinion | Losing Touch, Finding Intimacy
I had come to believe I was unable to break through my physical disability. I was wrong.
nytimes.com
Seems like it’s the right time for a Frank O. download .... here’s a sweet podcast showcasing his thoughts on working with the dying.
Frank Ostaseski | Learning From Dying
The Astral Hustle #147 End of life care pioneer Frank Ostaseski is a renowned Buddhist teacher who cofounded the Zen Hospice Project and the Metta Institute. In this touching podcast, Frank shares what sitting with thousands of people at the time of their death has taught him about living.&n
cory-allen.com
The Jewish tradition has so much to teach us about grieving and dying and atonement. Yom Kippur, I’ve now learned, is about not looking away from one’s mortality but practicing for it.
Opinion | A Dress Rehearsal for Our Deaths
Yom Kippur asks us to look our mortality in the face. Can we sustain the stare?
nytimes.com