I walked into the apartment having absolutely no idea what I was going to find or what my role would be. There was clear disconnect among the family members. Each was trying to navigate her rapid decline, feeling unheard and unsupported by the people closest to them. It was emotional, complicated, and heartbreaking to witness. I went upstairs to her room and knew immediately that she had very little time left. When I turned to look at the family, they were all staring at me w

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...

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....

I was visiting a patient recently who lived in a facility where there were multiple COVID-positive residents. I walked down the long...

Many years ago, I worked in a hospice house; there were ten beds, which were almost always occupied. Some days, there was a patient...

I have been doing some serious reflecting. I feel a little like a seesaw in that some days I am up... and some days I am down. I know...

I cry a lot lately. I always have but the tears I have been letting loose more recently are due to the myriad of emotions this virus has...

As a hospice nurse, part of the comfort I provide for patients and their families is a long, lingering hug that says, “I’ve got you. I am here. You are not alone.” Most of the time, the hug is for them. But the truth is, I benefit from it too. Sometimes it is the only thing that helps me work through my own emotions after a last breath has been taken. But we can’t hug anymore, and I struggle with that. As this virus moves through our world, attempting to knock down everything

For the first time, at least for as long as I have been alive, the entire world is going through the same thing simultaneously. This...

For the past eight days I have been quarantined at home due to having multiple symptoms that fall in line with the virus. It has been a...

Each visit I had with Henry, except for only once because it was raining, was outside on the porch swing that hung from an old oak tree...

I visited with a patient the other day while at the same time our world was in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis. Before heading in I...

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,...

There are moments in life when words feel too heavy… or not enough. In those moments, I often send a simple text message, one red heart. No explanation, no expectation, just a quiet way of saying: I am thinking of you. You are not alone. You are held. I started doing this after sitting at bedsides, witnessing so many last goodbyes. In the quiet that followed, I felt a pull to reach out to those who were left behind, to remind them that even after everything, they were not alo

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 days with him choregraphing his death, and then time with his family as well, learning what they needed too. All of their wishes were honored on this difficult, and yet beautiful day. I have been here before. The room looks different, and the faces have changed but the sounds of tears that echo in my head prepare me for what I am about to see

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, use a restroom or check the mirror to make sure I am still somewhat intact....

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