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Boundaries? In Hospice? Is that a thing?
A few weeks ago, I received a message from someone I am connected with on Facebook, but I have never met. Like myself, she is a hospice...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Oct 11, 20203 min read


The little blue necklace
Before I became a hospice nurse and all through nursing school, I was a caregiver for a husband and wife who were in their 80’s. I took...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Sep 26, 20204 min read


What being an end of life doula means... to me.
I am writing this on the day of my graduation of a program that certified me to become an end-of-life doula. I have spent most of the...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Sep 17, 20205 min read


Grace
Every morning I wake up the same way; I check the time, thankful for the additional twenty minutes I usually end up having before I need...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Sep 13, 20203 min read


I hope I get to see you again
When people ask me why I do the work I do, which is a question I get asked often, I usually say the same thing each time; I see a lot of...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Sep 6, 20203 min read


Long After They Have Gone
I think it is fair to say that after someone dies, we look for signs that they are still out there watching over us, or simply paying us...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Aug 29, 20204 min read


Eleven Rocks Walk
Every Friday I see a patient for wound care, he is not actively dying but he is declining and being in his 90’s I think that would be...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Aug 22, 20203 min read


"This IS me trying"
I was sitting at the bedside with the wife of a man who was nearing the end of his life. This is not unusual for me, as it is my...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Aug 6, 20205 min read


The Last Time
As I was driving away from a visit with my granddaughters recently, I thought to myself, “what if this is the last time I see them”,...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jul 24, 20204 min read


There is no "I" in team. In hospice, it takes a village.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned as a hospice nurse, is the importance of the team you share a patient with. Early on I...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jul 17, 20203 min read


Some heartfelt truths from a hospice nurse during COVID
As the weeks and now months pass me by, I find myself feeling less and less hopeful that we will get through this any time soon, and I am...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jul 9, 20204 min read


The Last Word
I have written a letter to my family letting them know what I want when I die. I did this because I work in hospice and my experience has...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jul 4, 20205 min read


The Widow, the Owl and the Hospice Nurse
I spent many hours at the bedside with a man who had been under our care for quite some time, and who was dying… a long and tedious...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jun 27, 20204 min read


The Grief Club
Every morning for the past six months I have kept in contact with a woman who lost her husband. The day after he died, I sent a red heart...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jun 19, 20206 min read


What I wouldn’t give for one last conversation with you.
The last words I spoke to my dad before he died, was a message I left on his answering machine. Actually, it was two messages; one saying...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jun 13, 20204 min read


Visions, Voices and Visitors
I have seen the look of panic when a family member tells me their loved one is seeing people in their room and having conversations with...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
Jun 6, 20205 min read


The very best last goodbye
I walked into the apartment having absolutely no idea what I was going to be presented with, or what my role was to be. There was...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 29, 20204 min read


What will tomorrow bring?
Every morning I wake up with this feeling that things will be back to normal and the Virus will no longer hold space in our lives, as...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 23, 20204 min read


Our song will never cease.
Being a hospice nurse during a time when our world is trying desperately to navigate the COVID virus has not been easy, to say the least....
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 16, 20204 min read


Can you see my smile behind this mask?
I was visiting a patient recently who lived in a facility where there were multiple COVID-positive residents. I walked down the long...
Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
May 9, 20203 min read

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