08/28/2012
Did you know that never in recorded history have human beings died as they will die in this coming century? Death by chronic illness, changing demographics, increased period of time requiring care, decreased caregivers… The good bad and ugly of death and the internet… Death midwives, home funerals, green burial… Baby Boomers are aging! Do
Read More08/28/2012
Grief is a constant yet hidden companion of dementia – grief experienced by the person living and dying with dementia and grief experience by the caregivers, family and friends. These ongoing losses, some of which are rather ambiguous, may not be recognized or understood by the persons experiencing the many losses or by their community
Read More08/28/2012
Giving advice is such a common response when someone presents a problem or appears to be in distress. Giving advice when someone is asking a practical question like “how do you empty a catheter bag” is appropriate. Giving advice is usually the result of good intentions and a strong desire to ‘fix’ whatever seems to
Read More08/24/2012
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog titled, “You are dead but you keep popping up”. I mentioned some of the growing concerns about what happens to our “digital life” following death, some of the issues that loved ones experience during bereavement, and how complex this has become. I am curious about an upcoming
Read More08/14/2012
I am amazed at the job done by Mike Hill in writing, directing and producing an amazing series of Short Films about the crisis in untreated pain and the transformative effects that pain management and palliative care services can bring to patients and families. The collection of 50 short films have received over 122,000 views
Read More08/12/2012
Have you had a friend die, only to have them “pop up” on your Facebook page? This is only one of the challenges of death and Social Media. Franca Posner is a counselor in private practice. Currently she has no website, and is not a social media buff, but she has become an expert on
Read More08/11/2012
In another study by Kaasalainen et al (*see reference below) a tool was developed to screen for pain among individuals who are not able to communicate the presence of pain. The tool “Pain Assessment in the Communicatively Impaired” person (PACI) is shown to be reliable and valid. It can be recommnded for clinical use, and
Read More08/11/2012
Fabulous research by Brazil et al. Did you know?…. *In Canada, 75% of all deaths occur in people over 65 years of age, and 75% of these deaths take place in hospitals and LTC homes (Subcommittee to Update ‘Of Life and Death’, 2000). Recent estimates for the USA reveal that approximately 20% of all deaths
Read More08/11/2012
Time and again I have heard people say, “Caring for the dying is the easy part… It is caring for the family that is difficult”. I quote this, not to diminish the importance or the complexity in caring for the dying, or to criticize family and loved ones, but to identify how difficult the experience
Read More08/11/2012
The BOOMERS, according to market research*, do not plan to lie down and die, they do not plan to grow old, they want emphatic engagement with life, are willing to reinvent themselves to matter, want to think about new possibilities, and want to have a pivotal role in the way things unfold in the future.
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