Living With The Dying

This week, my blog post can be found on the wonderful website, Wisdom of the Wounded at:
https://wisdomofthewounded.com/2018/04/26/living-with-the-dying/
In the article I share suggestions for journeying with someone who is terminally ill, learned not only through my experience as a physician, but also as a wife accompanying her dying husband. I hope you will check out my post and explore the site to find all the other great information available there. There are several excellent podcasts and suggestions inspired my suggestions, including a podcast by the founder’s husband about accompanying his best friend who is dying of lung cancer, and a side bar with straightforward tips about caring for a friend with cancer. Even if you can’t use this information right now, you probably know someone who can, so please share it with them!!

Being a Friend to the Terminally Ill

The Best Laid Plans

It was a hot, humid 4th of July. I had all sorts of family plans in mind – a walk on the river trail behind our house, a picnic lunch, an evening cookout with relatives, and of course, the annual community fireworks.

As so often happens when we make plans, nothing went the way I envisioned. The kids didn’t want to walk because it was too muggy outside. Neil wasn’t hungry so he didn’t feel like having a picnic. I was missing several key ingredients for the side dish I planned to make for dinner and had to change the menu. Frustrated by my thwarted daytime plans, I determined to make sure the evening went exactly as I intended. Continue reading →

When Someone is Grieving, Just Show Up and Help

In case you missed this news, I have a guest blog posted on the website Wisdom of the Wounded.

http://wisdomofthewounded.com/2018/02/27/when-someone-is-grieving-just-show-up-and-help/

I hope you’ll check it out and share with anyone who might need it. It dovetails nicely with my post on what to say when you don’t know what to say:

When Your Heart Wants To Help, But Your Head Has No Idea What To Say