This is a story of one of my doula clients who invited me to walk beside him through every stage of his end-of-life journey. From the moment he received his terminal diagnosis to the hours just before his death, he shared openly what he was feeling and experiencing. He had been ill for many years, but when things worsened and he was told he had only months left, he asked me to help him plan the time he had remaining. It was an honor, and a journey for me as well. His honesty

I was sitting with a woman who was days before her death, fully conscious and aware of everything she was feeling and experiencing. She...

“Gabby, why am I grieving the loss of my mom more than my sisters are? Why is mine so much deeper and more painful? I feel like it’s...

I was with a woman who was in her eighties and had Dementia although there were moments of such clarity that I sometimes forget. With...

I was having a conversation with my granddaughter recently, telling her a story about my mom, who had died way before she was born. She...

I first started working in the end-of-life field as an in-home caregiver, which is what motivated me to become a hospice nurse. As a caregiver, I realized that the elderly in general, but especially those who were declining quickly, were not receiving the care I felt they should, and I wanted to try and change that. I went back to school in my late 40's to be a hospice nurse specifically. I have worked in hospice for 15+ years, and I am also a death doula. I am always eager t

Something I teach in my classes and use as an assessment tool for someone who is declining from age or illness, is the significance of...

I know it's you that comes to visit me I feel you each time It might be the rainbow after a pouring rain And always when I hear wind...

It is not my place to tell someone how to feel when they are dying. I never try to fix or change their mindset, and rarely am I asked to....

Who am I and what have I done Where have I been Have I had enough fun Have I taken advantage Of each moment and of time Have I cherished...

I try to walk every morning, and I change my route each day to break things up, but the one thing that never seems to change is the...

When someone has received a terminal diagnosis, and they’ve been told they have less time what this translates most to them, is that they...

I was with a family the other day as they were preparing to say goodbye to their matriarch. She was in her nineties, has ten children,...

“Autonomy can be defined as the ability of a person to make his or her own decisions .” When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness their autonomy, their choices, and their voices are often taken from them. They did not choose for their life to be cut short, or for their body to be riddled with pain, or to lose their ability to care for themselves or do things they love, with the people they love. Everyone else makes choices for them, stepping in to make decisions on th

To be gifted someone that loves you To know that feeling in your heart To be cared for well, and to feel safe In life… that is the very...

I am often asked what the best gift would be to bring someone who is dying or someone who is grieving. Our first go-to is usually...

I have built a wall around me One that protects me from the pain And despite how thick or strong it is The ache comes back again But even...

Some days are harder than others to get out of bed. Some days you want to throw the covers right over your head. Some days you feel so...

This is a question I am asked often. I think that we each have our own thoughts and beliefs about this and should not tell someone else...

There are two kinds of goodbyes, the kind where you expect to see each other again, and the kind where you know you never will. The...