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Dignity and Independence
When I first saw this photo, it took me back to a moment I was present for a man who chose to exercise his right to take the End-of-Life...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 13, 20222 min read


We are nurses... that's what we do.
We don’t wear a cape We don’t have wings We are not angels We are none of those things What we are is human We lead with our heart We...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 11, 20221 min read


Afraid of Dying
I received an email with the words, "I am afraid of dying," in the subject line. It was from a woman who was given a few months left to...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 9, 20223 min read


The Grief Bubble
Today I sat with a husband who was preparing to say goodbye to his wife... When I asked him what I could do for him, he said "give me...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 3, 20221 min read


What do end-of-life doulas do?
Awhile back I received a call from a woman who was dying and searching for an end-of-life doula. While I feel confident in the work I do,...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Apr 27, 20224 min read


It's okay to cry.
After spending many weeks with a gentleman who was dying, I was honored that he requested me to be there when he took his last breath. I...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Apr 18, 20223 min read


Losing your independence can be devastating.
I was with a gentleman who needed to be assisted to his chair, he was 72. He was a tall man, very handsome, and had been an avid golfer...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Apr 10, 20223 min read


Sadness is woven deep inside of me
A poem I wrote one morning when grief decided to suddenly invite itself into my sleep... totally unannounced. I woke up early this...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Mar 31, 20222 min read


Grief... the visitor that never leaves
Grief... is so darn messy. Right? I made a promise to myself after my brother died, that when grief decided to come for a visit, I would...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Mar 18, 20222 min read


If I could do anything over again...
If I could do anything over again It would be to spend more time with you But that’s not how things work in this thing called life I...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Mar 2, 20221 min read


Unresolved Sadness
As I write this blog it is the seventh anniversary of my sister Laura's death. I cannot tell you how many times I have said, "if I only...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Feb 27, 20224 min read


Grief is so random
Because of the losses I have experienced personally over the years I am acutely aware of how long grief lasts, and that it never ends. I...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Feb 22, 20223 min read


"I am okay, today. Check back in again tomorrow."
When someone asks me how I am doing, I fight responding with an “I am fine,” because in my head it comes out in a high-pitched whiny...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Feb 10, 20222 min read


Death has changed me.
Every day someone asks me how I am doing, and every day I think of creative ways to avoid saying, "I am fine." It is such an easy thing...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Feb 6, 20223 min read


How can you support someone who is trying to navigate death, loss and grief?
Does it sometimes surprise you the things people say to comfort someone who is navigating illness, accident, death, or grief for...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Feb 1, 20225 min read


I want more time
Grief is a teeter-totter Grief can't seem to make up it's mind Grief has a million different colors One minute I am fine... moving...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jan 29, 20222 min read


Eighteen Days
He had such a good day, or so it seemed. So many little moments of improvement and heightened hope that he might really pull through...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jan 28, 20225 min read


Gratitude has a whole new meaning for me.
As I write this, my brother has been in the ICU for two weeks, and to be honest, I was afraid he was not going to make it. I had prepared...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jan 22, 20222 min read


When the hospice nurse becomes the sister at the bedside...
About a week ago, on my sisters birthday (who has been gone seven years), I received a phone call from my other sister that our brother...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jan 18, 20223 min read


Grief is like a pair of muddy boots.
I was talking to someone recently who shared the struggles she was having on the first anniversary of the death of her husband. She said...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jan 12, 20223 min read

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