Life’s most challenging situations have a way of bringing forth lots of advice from friends and family. While all of it is given with the best of intentions, not all of it is ...
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I’d been living at my Dad’s house for just weeks when his cancer marched forward to win the war. It was a fast decline. One day he could walk, the next day he couldn’t. I was ...
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Professor Rod MacLeod from Hospice NZ, and one of Violet's clinical committee members, shares a sensitive deep-dive into the final days of a human's life. And what you might ...
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It takes courage to be honest about how you are feeling – with the person you are caring for, with your family and friends or even strangers. But it only takes one person to open ...
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My mother was a contemplative in her own way. A year before she died, she sent me a classic little poem she had written which was so pure and sweet that it still brings tears of ...
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Caring for someone who is in the last stages of life can take a lot of time, energy and effort. For some people it can take over their lives, especially if there is no respite ...
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Caring for her terminally ill mother completely changed Ann Andersen’s perspective on how to ‘do death’: “When it’s my turn and I’m facing it, I’m going to speak openly and I’m ...
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When caring for someone who is approaching the last stages of life, through a life-limiting illness or frailty, it can often be easier to stay in a state of hopeful positivity; to ...
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For Brendan Moran and his family, talking about his wife’s imminent death was natural and spontaneous. It started when Angie asked two things of her husband – to be cared for at ...
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In a candid, heartfelt talk about a subject most of us would rather not discuss, Michelle Knox asks each of us to reflect on our core values around death and share them with our ...
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At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it’s simply comfort, respect, love. BJ Miller is a hospice and palliative medicine physician who thinks deeply about ...
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As the old saying goes ‘once a nurse, always a nurse’ and ain’t it the truth. I loved being a nurse practicing for over 17 years but never in my worst nightmare did I think I’d ...
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Peter Saul asks us to think about the end of our lives — and to question the modern model of slow, intubated death in hospital. Two big questions can help you start this tough ...
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Understanding what to expect in the last stages of life can be reassuring. It can help you and your family and friends live each day more fully with the person you are caring for.
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In our experience, the ‘inner circle’ who care for the seriously ill or frail person – which may include partners, parents, sons and daughters and other people who matter the most ...
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Being able to talk honestly about how you are feeling is a good start. Often it can help to have these conversations with someone who is close to you – the person dying, a family ...
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It’s important to ask for help People tell us that caring for someone in the last stages of life is one of the hardest things they’ve done; it requires deep reserves of strength, ...
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It aims to alleviate pain and suffering and to integrate medical with spiritual, emotional and psychological aspects of care for the dying person and their family.
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Dr Novak was a Jewish refugee imprisoned in Auschwitz during the Second World War. He looked after my grandfather in the last years of his life, visiting often when my grandfather ...
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When my Mom was dying, my siblings and I gathered to be with her in her final days. None of us knew anything about supporting someone in their transition out of this life, but we ...
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What is an advance care plan? An advance care plan details your future wishes for your health, care and other personal preferences, particularly for the end of your life. It ...
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Why are condition-specific organisations important? These organisations can provide specialist information and support that can assist you when caring for someone with a ...
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What help is available? As well as tending to the needs of the dying person, you may also need help with the many day-to-day tasks of running a household. Whether you have been ...
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Self-care is a powerful caring tool. It can prevent burnout, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue, not to mention it’s a vital part of maintaining your general wellbeing. “Not ...
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