05/02/2020
In the palliative care books, Integrating a Palliative Approach: Essentials for Personal Support Workers, and Essentials in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Practical Resource for Every Nurse, I use the image of a comfort basket to refer to non-pharmacological (non-medicinal) items that can help promote comfort and provide support when caring for a person who
Read More03/31/2020
One of the challenges health care providers are facing with COVID-19 is managing breathlessness or shortness of breath in infected patients. For some caregivers and health care professionals, it may not be logical to consider applying palliative care principles and practices for managing difficult breathing when supporting people with breathlessness due to COVID-19. Know that
Read More03/26/2020
The COVID-19 virus is coming to a home nearby. How near? And how serious? Even if the curve is flattened, the reality is that people will get sick, and people will die. The deaths could include me or Ted. That is a reality. This morning my dear colleague Elizabeth Dougherty shared an EXCELLENT article, This
Read More03/26/2020
The COVID-19 virus is coming to a home nearby. How near? And how serious? Even if the curve is flattened, the reality is that people will get sick, and people will die. The deaths could include me. That is a reality. This morning my dear colleague Elizabeth Dougherty shared an EXCELLENT article, This Pandemic is
Read More03/20/2020
Daily we learn more about the COVID-19 virus. We hear about outbreaks, number of cases and number of deaths on a global and local level. The topic of death is on the table in a very real way. Death due to COVID19 is a reality for those who are very frail and vulnerable. People living
Read More03/20/2020
Managing pain and dyspnea for people with life limiting illnesses requires safe opioid use. Dyspnea is one of the most common symptom experienced by people with COVID-19, so this is a good time to review safe strategies for using opioids. Opioid misuse can be minimized by using risk assessment tools, contracts for opioid use, and
Read More03/16/2020
As the world responds to the COVID-19 virus, as travel and group gatherings are discouraged and conferences are cancelled, Ted and I are hibernating. There could not be a better time for us to be called “closer to home”. We are so grateful that we were able to hold Geordie’s funeral at a time when
Read More03/10/2020
We often think of writing as a way to present our ideas to others, to answer questions, and to illustrate what we know. However, Laurel Richardson suggests that she writes in order to LEARN! I write because I want to find something out. I write in order to learn something that I didn’t know before
Read More03/05/2020
Cuidar con compasión: es difícil ser familia Escrito por Kath Murray Se ha escuchado decir a las personas involucradas en el cuidado de las personas en vías de morir: Cuidar a la persona moribunda es fácil; lo difícil es cuidar de la familia. El punto a recordar es que las personas responden a la muerte
Read More11/08/2019
As Remembrance Day approaches, I reflect, in particular, on those who fought in wars to provide us with the freedoms we enjoy today. Ann-Marie, Ted and I cherish those in our families who participated in WW I and II. We are grateful that they returned home, and because they came home, that we have life.
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