I consider it a privilege when we are asked to care for someone at the end of their life; to have them trust us to come into their home,...

This morning I sent a text message to a woman whose husband passed away. The message was one red heart, no words, just the reminder that...

A blog I wrote after witnessing a man take the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) medications with his family gathered around him. I had spent...

This job is tough. Today was one of those days when I completely understand what people mean when they say, “I don’t know how you can do...

One of the things I have become very drawn to are the visions that patient’s see as they near the end of their life. I have heard stories...

Someone recently asked me why we call it a “good death”. She is the daughter of a man who was nearing the end of his life and someone had...

I can’t even count how many days I have forgotten to eat, or to use a restroom or check the mirror to make sure I am still somewhat...

I have always been attracted to hummingbirds and dragonflies. Someone once told me that if you see a hummingbird soon after someone has...

A few days ago I was at a facility seeing a patient. I got off the elevator heading toward the memory care unit and noticed a familiar...

The only real certainty about death is that we are all going to die. We are certain of that. But how and when we die is a question no one...

In one week I could sit with ten different people who are about to or will have lost someone they love. I am witness to the dying process...

By the time someone comes to us, they have lived their entire lives; we come in at the very end and only get a snapshot. We hear a...

I spend a lot of time talking about the beautiful side of death. Working in hospice has allowed me an opportunity to see death in a way...

When I applied to nursing school, it was with my full intention to become a hospice nurse; I never entertained anything else. I knew with...

Despite my experience working in the end-of-life field, sometimes I still need to be reminded that this is someone else’s experience and...

I have said this before… but people have a tendency not to ask me how my day was because they are afraid that I am going to tell them. In...

I went to dinner recently and I had to walk two blocks to get to the restaurant. It was really cold and pouring down rain and I forgot to...

When you work in hospice, you are constantly reminded of what it is like to lose someone you love. I am still trying to process the loss...

For the past few years, when appropriate, I have asked some of my patients what it feels like to die. My reason for this is because I...

After someone takes their last breath, I stay with the family and I provide comfort, support and active listening. I have a number of...