Frank Ostaseski’s Five Precepts of Service lend a strong foundation to the work of accompaniment … The Fourth Precept: Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things. We often think of rest as something that will come when everything else is complete, like when we go on a holiday or when our work […]
find a place of rest … in the middle of things Read More »
… a wonderful glimpse into a community that treasures accompanying its own at the end-of-life. on the “issue” of nutrition-hydration … “And dying people, you can tell when they don’t want to eat or drink. That’s a natural thing.” (see my food & water for the journey at life’s end) “This is what our culture,
dying in community … Read More »
… a wide-ranging memoir of the author’s father’s encounter with the modern medical system. “The pacemaker bought my parents two years of limbo, two of purgatory and two of hell…”
what broke my father’s heart … Read More »
Elvira Parravicini discusses Icarus’ fall and its relation to caring for those in need. “suffering and sickness are unavoidable and ultimately are the premonition of death. Chagall depicts the falling Icarus welcomed by the people of the town with open arms, with tenderness and compassion. In history, care for the sick came about this way,
chagall’s ‘the fall of icarus’ … Read More »
… please visit the recently added summary of delirium at end-of-life on the hospice pall med page.
delirium at end-of-life … Read More »
… In the Name of the Sons explores the lives of several fathers who have lost sons in our recent wars. “On a cold night last October, two men stood shoulder to shoulder in front of a small crowd sitting silently in a sparsely furnished room in Flatlands, Brooklyn. Marlowe Fletcher was the shorter of
Frank Ostaseski’s Five Precepts of Service lend a strong foundation to the work of accompaniment … The Third Precept: Don’t Wait. Patience is different than waiting. When we wait, we are full of expectations. When we’re waiting, we miss what this moment has to offer. Worrying or strategizing about what the future holds for us,
Checklist Manifesto … Gawande’s best-seller on the humble checklist as a fulcrum of quality improvement … … ends up arguing that we should ” embrac[e] a culture of teamwork and discipline.” (p. 160) The ‘checklist’ is really just a catalyst, a tool, to get people to talk to each other and work together as a
atul gawande … on improvement Read More »
… no one will need to be good Oh my soul, be prepared for the coming of the Stranger. Be prepared for him who knows how to ask questions. There is one who remembers the way to your door: Life you may evade, but Death you shall not. You shall not deny the Stranger. They
dreaming of systems so perfect … Read More »
… Paying for the ‘Institutionalized’ Spouse … A good summary of the ‘options’ when one spouse needs more care than the other is able to provide at home. The comments reveal a lot about our culture’s priorities and response to persons in need.
when one spouse needs more care … Read More »
