Something is Right With You

"I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." -Anne Frank

I had a client come into my office the other day. An elderly gentleman who reported that that he has been feeling very lost since the death of he wife and constant companion of 64 years. As he described to me the tragic circumstances surrounding his wife’s passing, my heart ached for him. Before I started working in bereavement, I was under the mistaken impression that it is not such a big deal when the elderly die because they are nearing the end anyway and “have lived a good long life” (as the platitudes offered by well-meaning well-wishers often go). Tell that to the person who has spent the last 64 years with someone by his side.

As a young person, it is difficult for me to even comprehend 64 years of my own life, let alone the idea of spending that much time with a loved one. (At this point, my chances of actually being with someone for that long are really pretty slim. Unless I live to be very very old).

Loss is difficult at any age and for any person. Much of what grieving people need is an opportunity to share their story with someone. Too many times, the bereaved person’s circle of support moves on before the bereaved one is ready to. Too many times, the bereaved person feels like he or she needs to put the grief aside and “get on with life.” Our fast-paced American culture expects the healing process to occur in a small window of time (as evidenced by the fact that most companies only offer about 3 days of bereavement leave).

A vast majority of my hours with clients involves listening to their stories and allowing them to express their grief. Because we live in an impatient culture, bereaved people often feel like something is wrong with them because they are spending “too much” time focusing on the death of a loved one.

The simple truth is that this painful focus is actually a sign that something is right with them. The fact that people have not become so jaded and cynical that they still see and feel the pain that comes with losing a loved one is a sign to me of the goodness of human nature. That in a world full of constant news of tragedies, both personal and public, people still find it in their hearts to love someone else so much that a loss impacts them this badly tells me what amazing creatures we human beings are. 

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Posted in: direct practice,grief and loss,hospice

Moving up in the world

January was an eventful month for me. I found myself averaging about two job interviews a week. I have been ready to leave my rural community and have been willing to take just about any social work job in order to be able to move to a larger city. The interview with the company that would most closely fit my description of a "dream job" interview went particularly poorly, so I was shocked to receive an offer from them a week or two later. 

28 days ago, they contacted me with an offer that was better than I had even begun to hope for. After some consideration, I decided to take it, and have spent the last 28 days preparing to say goodbye to my patients. I said my final patient and colleagues goodbyes today and yesterday, will move tomorrow, and will start my new job on Monday.

I am looking forward to becoming a grief and bereavement counselor for a  agency. I worked in hospice for most of graduate school, but will be transitioning from medical social work to bereavement care. I'm somewhat nervous about the transition. I will be going from a small, hospital-based for-profit agency in a rural area to a large, independent, non-profit agency in an urban area. In the coming weeks, I hope to write several posts comparing the diverse experiences of these two paths.  For now, I probably need to focus on learning as much as I can and working hard to prove myself at my new job. Wish me luck!

What are some things you do to adjust to a new agency or a new position?

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Posted in: hospice,Job searching

Religion and spirituality

So one of the volunteers I work with mentioned the other day that I am “just not religious enough to be a good social worker.”  Terrific.

I have two problems with this statement: A) Since when is religiosity (or even spirituality) a prerequisite for success as a social worker? And B) Since when am I not religious?

We are planning a memorial service for hospice families that have lost loved ones in the last year.  It is taking place in a local church. We were discussing the order of programs and it was mentioned that we need an opening and closing prayer. I offered to say the closing prayer. One of the volunteers looked at me and said, “Um, we are looking for someone to pray who has more, um, traditional beliefs. You know, beliefs that go along with the majority of the people in this area.” That was what he said, but what he meant, if you are not a Baptist preacher or preacher’s wife, you are not qualified to pray in public. 

Never mind the fact that this is a non-denominational memorial service meant for members of any/all/no religion. 

During the same conversation, my boss commented to me "you are so unchurched it is ridiculous." Which is actually not true, given that I am a weekly participant in church services, pray several times a day, attend scripture study weekly, and volunteer much of my time each week to my church.

As eye opening as it has been spending this time in the south, I struggle with this a great deal. I grow weary of people assuming that religiosity equals worth in a person. I have had hospice volunteers who have refused to go into the home of a patient who is not religious, and volunteers who have all but insisted that their own minister meet with a non-religious patient to make sure that patient is all right before Jesus before death.

Although intentions may be sincere, this creates challenges as a social worker to train volunteers and staff members to protect the patient’s own right to determine what he/she needs from a spiritual point of view.

Social workers are trained to work in a very inclusive fashion, and to accept the realities of other people’s lives without judgment. This applies to religious beliefs and practices as well. While I don’t personally mind being the religious minority, I do wish that there was a little bit more open mindedness about that in my area.

How do religion and spirituality and social work relate? I feel like in some lines of work, it is a very fine line that separates them. What has your experience been? If you find it to be a fine line, how do you navigate it?

By the way, this is a fascinating project that is attempting to better understand and bring together world religions. If you are interested in getting a better understanding of world religions- either for yourself or to better understand your clients- check out: Project Conversion. And follow it on Facebook here.

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Posted in: direct practice,hospice,religion,uncategorized

Elders and racism

I got a scholarship for working with the elderly. It’s funny, because I went into social work because I wanted to work with children and issues of poverty, but I continue to find myself drawn to the aging people.

When I moved to the rural south, I learned how prevalent issues of race and racism still remain in our country. Coming from the west, where people's skin color is relatively non-diverse, and the absence of racial minorities creates a pretense of the an absence of racism, this discovery was rather surprising to me.

I visited a patient the other day, and she spent an hour telling me that she is “not racist, but I just think white people should stay with white people and black people should stay with black people. I’m not racist, but that ‘s just the way it is.” I encounter this type of old fashioned racism a lot among the elderly people I work with in the south. I’m never entirely sure what to do about it. A part of me wants to correct this type of thinking, but a part of me wonders what the point in attempting to do so with a dying person is. What do you think?

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Posted in: Elderly,hospice

Performance Evaluation

Just when I start to think that I am doing well in life, I get some sort of reminder about all of my vast areas for improvement. This time it came in the form of a performance evaluation at work. Not that it was anything really bad (I do enjoy my job, for the most part); it was just a reminder of how far I have to go. More of the same old… I need to organize my stuff better, document better, etc. Blah. I just want to be the world’s most perfect social worker now, dang it!

Honestly, I don’t know about this whole “being an adult” thing. It’s hard sometimes. I think I chose a tough field to get involved with given the fact that it has such a high burnout rate. If I can just survive this year, which is extra tough because I am studying social work in school, working as a social worker, and doing a social work field placement. I think that when I have time to think about things other than social work, I will be okay. Until then, I just need to pray for better organization skills and find a couple of good social work mentors.

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Posted in: graduate school,hospice

An Interesting Request

So I went to visit one of our new hospice patients last week. This was a really nice patient and we had a great visit. As we were nearing the end of our conversation, I asked her if she had any goals for her time as a hospice patient. Her response: “I’d love to ride with Mark Martin.”

Now, I had no idea who Mark Martin was, but I guess he’s some kind of NASCAR driver (I don’t follow racing, but everyone in my town loves it). She was half-joking, and the race does not come here for another couple of months so I don’t know if it would be possible anyway. Still, I thought to myself, it’d sure be super cool to make her dream come true.

I've always kind of thought that one of the jobs of a social worker is to help make people's dreams come true, and that idea was one of the reasons I pursued social work. That desire so frequently gets lost in all of the other obligations of Social Workers, but it is still there in the back of my mind. I can't stop thinking about this patient and her goal. I really want to see it happen, but I don't know how.I wonder how I get in touch with a race car driver?

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Posted in: hospice

Educational Experiences

I’ve had some interesting educational opportunities this week. First of all, I had the privilege of hearing Larry Churchill lecture on the healing power of relationships. Mr. Churchill is a professor of Medical Ethics at Vanderbilt University. The lecture was, for all intents and purposes, absolutely fascinating. Seriously, it was. I mean really.

Mr. Churchill and some colleagues did a qualitative study on medial clinicians who have received peer reports indicating that they are very good at building rapport with patients. The intent of the study was to help us develop some understanding of common practices that are used in building relationships. Mr. Churchill and his colleagues identified some common practices. As a side note, I took copious notes on the lecture, and I was actually complimented on my note taking skills, which is a first for me. Note taking is not normally my strength).

He instructed us to take the time to be present, personalize the relationship with the patient, utilize common courtesies, and do things that remind the patient that you are human too.

He also reminded us to be present and listen. When seeking to engage clients, there should be NO MULTI-TASKING (I am the worst at this. I feel like being present is one of my biggest weaknesses as a social worker). Patients and their families deserve our undivided attention when they are with us.

Ultimately, Dr Churchill told us that clinicians need to live out humility. We should be “worthy to serve the suffering.” This means that we live good lives, we carry ourselves in such a way that suffering people will feel safe with us.

I think one of the most interesting ideas that Dr. Churchill shared with us is that healing is not something that flows from the clinician to the client, but it is a feature of the interaction.

I was also privileged to attend a Q&A session with Elie Wiesel, distinguished professor, Nobel Laureate, holocaust survivor, and political activist. It was a very intimate conversation; only me and a handful of other students. The students asked Dr. Wiesel how he felt about various issues the world is facing, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the conflicts in Israel and Palestine, the recent suicides of homosexuals, and many other things. He shared with us his mantra: Whatever we do in life, we need to think higher and feel deeper. He encouraged those of us who want to be lifelong servants and humanitarians to remember to enjoy our own lives, but consistently be thinking about those who are unable to enjoy it.

Dr. Wiesel also made a comment about God that resonated with me. A student asked him if he felt that God was indifferent to the suffering in the world. Dr. Wiesel pointed out that the world’s definition of injustice may be different from God’s definition of injustice, due to the fact that God may have a different perspective than those of us on earth. It’s an idea that has been rolling around in my head for a few months now, but he managed to put it into words that make sense other people as well as me.

I’m so grateful for the educational opportunities I have received. I love being able to learn from great people. Great clinicians, great activists, just plain and simple great people. My goodness, I love Social Work!

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Posted in: direct practice,graduate school,hospice,Social Work

Nursing Home Placements

Since I started working in hospice, my opinion about nursing homes has evolved a bit. I used to think of nursing homes as sad, lonely, pathetic places where people go when no one else wants them. Sort of like an orphanage for the elderly. Surely the only people who were placed in nursing homes were those with no other family. When I started working for hospice, I realized that that is not always the case. Sometimes, nursing homes are wonderful places.

Our hospice is very small and does not have any contracts with nursing homes, so when a patient or family chooses nursing home care, they also choose to revoke hospice (some of our competitors have contracts with the nursing homes our patients typically choose, so they are not without hospice care completely). For our hospice this is unfortunate from a business perspective, but it is obviously better for the patient to be able to get around the clock care needed.

We have had several patients who have not identified a primary care-giver, either because there is none available or because they do not feel they need one. In those situations, when the time comes that the patient is no longer able to care for him/herself at home, part of my responsibility is to help the patient identify an acceptable nursing home placement. I’ve found this to be a difficult task; very few patients admit that they are no longer able to care for themselves, and the notion of having to leave one’s home for the final days or weeks of life is understandably unpleasant. These are the situations I’ve struggled with. What is the best way to help a patient see the writing on the wall? If the patient cannot safely be in their home, how can I explain this to the patient, who came into hospice knowing that the mission of hospice is to help patients remain at home?

A couple of months ago, we had a lovely patient Mrs. G. Mrs. G. is a very sweet lady who somehow managed to capture the heart of everyone who came into her small apartment. She was mostly bed bound, did not have any family in the state, and relied on hospice care and four hours a day personal care from her Medicaid benefits. One day, after her personal care aid left, Mrs. G. decided to make herself some stew. She took her oxygen off, turned her crock-pot on dumped the stew in the pot, turned around to answer the phone, and fell over. Since she had chosen not to wear her lifeline, she had no way of reaching anyone. From 1:00pm until 8:00 the next morning, Mrs. G lay on the floor, a hot crock-pot on the counter 6 feet away from her.

When her personal care aide arrived the next morning, she found Mrs. G on the floor, helped her get up, cleaned, and back into bed, then promptly notified hospice. Mrs. G was adamant that she would not go to a nursing home, but gradually relented when the nurse, the chaplain, and I spoke to her and gently encouraged her to reconsider. Luckily, Adult Protective Services did not have to become involved, and Mrs. G headed off to the nursing home, only a little bit sad. Two days later, I stopped by the nursing home to say hello. Mrs. G was a different woman. Although she was of course still terminally ill, her eyes and her face were so much brighter. She reported more energy, and more happiness, which she attributed to finally receiving the care that she needed. She had lots of positive social interaction with the other people in the nursing home, and she could not remember why she had been so adamant about staying in her apartment.

Experiences like this have helped my opinion on nursing homes to evolve. I know that nursing homes are not without problems, but I love the care they’ve been able to give our former patients. Responsible adults who do not wish or are not able to be the main caregiver to their elderly parents do them a large disservice by keeping them at home without providing the highest quality of care. If being the caregiver is not in the cards, the most responsible choice for the family to make is to work to locate the best possible long-term care facility. And visit regularly, of course.

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Posted in: direct practice,hospice

Here's where I've been

So, when I started this blog, my hope was to post once or twice a week with my thoughts and experiences as a young social worker working in a rural hospice. The last month has just gotten away from me and I must admit, I haven't found too much that I really want to write about. Life is just hard right now. Our hospice program is understaffed, and I found myself handling volunteer coordination, bereavement efforts, hospice social work patient care, and home health social work patient care. In other words, trying to do about four people's jobs while going to graduate school. So making the time and the clarity of mind to sit down and write a blog post has not been high on my priority list.

Here's what has been on my priority list: I found out that my out-of-state tuition will be higher than what the program advertised. Instead of $6,000 a semester (expensive, but reasonable... it's only for 3.5 semesters and I'm willing to shell out 20 grand for this program), it will be $10,000 a semester (outrageous, and somewhat unreasonable... there's a big difference between going into debt $20,000 for school and going into debt $40,000 for school). Crap. One of the reasons I chose this program, despite the fact that it is an awesome program at a great university, was because of its reasonable out of state tuition rates. So much for that plan.

I have been trying to locate a field placement that will allow me to continue to work at my job. On top of all of that, my job has continued in it's tumultuous pattern. Last week our director and one of our nurses resigned within hours of each other (for unrelated reasons). Now we are short two staff members and they have already told us that they will likely not be hiring to replace them. It's not been the most pleasant work environment these past few weeks.

So I have to come up with an unplanned 20 thousand dollars, and at the same time I will also most likely have to cut back on my hours at work (or find another job altogether...a hospice in a neighboring town contacted me last week for a part time position, so we'll see what happens there) to do my field placement. Oh, and I found a field placement that I would like to do... I just need to figure out the logistic of it. If I were to do this particular placement, I would be working in a day treatment center for children and adolescents. Then this blog would likely become a combination of hospice social work/child and adolescent mental health/MSW program blog. I can handle that. Lots of things to think about.

Oh well. I'd say life is still good. I'm counting my blessings and am grateful for the fact that I have a job. A job, by the way, that I am falling in love with. I never, not even for one second, wanted to do medical social work. When I went into social work, I imagined working for a non-profit organization doing macro-level social work and community development in some urban neighborhood. But can I just say, I love the hospice program? I really do. I love holding patients' hands and talking with them about life after death. I love that this is a field where I can be open about my faith and my belief in God without feeling like I am stepping on toes (I moved here from Utah, and discussing religion in a public way is a no-no there, so it is very refreshing). Ultimately, I love the fact that families are willing to allow me to be a part of their lives during a time in their lives that is so sacred, and when they are so vulnerable.

Oh, and I started teaching an early morning religion class at my church. I meet three teenage boys every morning at 6:30 am to study the scriptures. It's good times. No, really, it is. But it does occupy much of my time and mental energy that I once channelled toward blogging.

All of that said, the new semester of school begins in t-minus three hours. Now that it is costing me almost twice as much as I budgeted for, I am feeling slightly more motivated to succeed. And the new semester will give me even more interesting things to write about. I will put forth every effort to not go for this long without posting ever again.

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Posted in: field placement,graduate school,hospice

"Fix her for me, will you?"

Source

It seems like the general public’s perception of the social work profession is that we are around to solve everyone’s problems. I can’t tell you how many times a nurse has wandered into my office, handed me a patient’s file, rattled off a list of problems, and wandered back out. I don’t mean to be critical of nurses or of anyone else in these helping professions; Heaven knows we are all overworked and exhausted. But I am getting tired of the idea that I am the resident problem solver. This guy needs Medicaid, get it for him; this lady needs to stop spending her money on cat food and start spending it on medicine, make her do that (and get her the drugs she needs in the meantime); this family needs to pay their mortgage, get them the money. And be sure you do it by today because they might be dead by tomorrow.

I love the concept of Social Work. I love the idea of helping people acquire the resources they need to improve themselves. What I can’t figure out is how to navigate between coworkers expectations of “help” and a client’s idea of “help.” They are two different things.

Many people seem to think that a social worker is not doing a good job if a client still has a messy house, still lives alone, still has denial issues, still has an unpaid mortgage, etc, even whilst working with a social worker. What is not taken into account is the will of the person. I’ll happily help a client make arrangements for a housekeeper or a sitter, or I’ll help a client apply for financial assistance or Medicaid if they would like. But I can’t just go into their home and wave my magic wand and solve their problems for them. And even if I could, there is no section of the Social Work Code of Ethics that give us permission to use magical powers. If no one is in immediate danger, there is not reason to solve problems that clients don’t care about. On the contrary, social workers “enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs.” (NASW Code of Ethics)

“Address their own needs.” Not address the needs that the nurses, the chaplain, or even the social worker think are important. But the client/family’s own needs. What has the client identified as important? What does she need help with? And what effort is she willing to make to get there? If I give her the resources and the support, can she give the effort? Those are some of the questions I ask myself when I am assessing a client.

Empowerment. Sometimes we forget this concept. Or maybe sometimes we think that to empower someone is to make them like us. To introduce them into our culture and our reality. To make them give high priority to the same things that we give high priority.

That doesn’t seem terribly effective.

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Posted in: hospice,social work ethics

Boundaries- Cross at your own risk

I've been wondering about boundaries that as social workers are generally hammered into our heads. Do other disciplines and other helping professions receive the same boundary awareness training that we social workers receive? I can't quite figure it out.

• A therapist brings his wife and children to a patient's house to clean it for her.
• A chaplain adds a patient's adult daughter as a friend on Facebook
• A professor sleeps with a student.
• A doctor sleep with a resident.
• A (fill in the blank) sleeps with a (fill in the blank)
• A nurse buys groceries for a patient because his fridge is empty.
• An aide invites a patient who got kicked out of his home to come and stay at her place.
• A volunteer spends the night at a patient's house because "I just felt like she needed me to be there."
• A nurse notices a patient's mattress springs are poking out of a patient's bed, so she purchases a new mattress for her and delivers it personally.
• A volunteer gives a patient a suppository. ("I just decided that I was his friend for a few minutes and not his volunteer").
• A social worker sleeps with a client. ("I just decided that I was his lover for an hour and not his social worker").

In some agencies, this type of work is lauded and considered very praiseworthy. It is even expected. To me (and hopefully any professionally trained social worker), it screams "INAPPROPRIATE!" Seriously. We are taught from day one not to get too involved, and to maintain professional boundaries. On a personal level, I struggle with this. I become very invested in the lives of my friends and family members. It is a weakness most of the time. But on a professional level, I have no problem (thus far in my career) with maintaining boundaries.
In my opinion, the majority of people who choose to do the actions listed above (all of them made up. Any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental) do it not to meet the need of the patient or client, but to meet their own needs. In an agency where things like that are expected and even encouraged, the need might be to seek after praise or recognition, or to combat the fear of losing one's job in the uncertain economy. Those who choose to respect professional boundaries may be seen as callous or jaded or out of touch with what the client "really" needs. I think what most clients need are professional, kind people who know how to get them in touch with their needed resources.
When I worked in foster care, I met kids and families that I just wanted to take home with me. Heck, when I taught swimming lessons, I met kids and families that I just wanted to take home with me. Why didn't I? Well, aside from the fact that I would not survive as a foster parent at the moment... duh.. boundaries. I'm sure we've all met people who we love and want to do anything for. But in these cases, it is best to keep our professional distance.
Boundaries protect us. Just like boundaries in our personal lives protect us (choosing not to drink alcohol protects me from drunkenness; choosing to wait until marriage for sex protects me from STDs; choosing to fasten my seat belt protects me from many injuries). We draw our own boundaries in our personal lives. In our professional lives they are drawn for us. At least I thought so.

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Posted in: hospice

What is this language you speak?

I just got out of new employee orientation at the hospice. Once again, I am wishing I knew more about medicine.

All through my school experience, I never thought even for a millisecond that I would eventually become a medical social worker. It wasn’t even remotely appealing to me. I really wanted to work for a non-profit of some kind doing some kind of something. As you can see, I am a very driven person who knows exactly what she wants in this life.

After graduation, the economy’s downward tide has made medical social work considerably more appealing. I was hired for the position I have now as a hospice social worker despite the fact that I haven’t yet obtained my MSW, despite the fact that I only recently graduated with my BSW, despite the fact that I have no experience as a social worker in any capacity, and despite the fact that my knowledge of anything even remotely medical can fit on the head of a pin.

I think it was an act of Deity.

So even though I had no idea whether or not I would find success or happiness in this branch of social work, I packed my bags and headed across the country; from northern Utah to southern Virginia. From the land of the Mormons to the land of the Southern Baptists. From the land of funeral potatoes and green Jello to the land of biscuits and gravy and grits. I think it’s safe to say I needed a change of pace anyway.

The change of pace has been nice. But challenging. Very challenging. See, I’m not medically trained. At all. On my first day on the job, I was reading a patient’s chart and I came across the acronym “S.O.B.” The context: “Patient was sitting up in bed talking and friendly, but noticeably SOB.” I thought to myself, ‘SOB? Hmm… that can’t possibly mean what I think it means…. But what does it mean?’ I can’t honestly say that I am much of a question asker (it’s something I’m working on), and so I just sat there for awhile trying to figure out what S.O.B. meant. I could have asked my boss and that would have been the end of it.

A couple of days later after reading it in about 20 other charts, it finally dawned on me that S.O.B must stand for short of breath. I mentioned this confusion to my medically trained sister and she laughed really hard. A couple of days later she and the physical therapist presented me with a list of commonly used medical acronyms.

It’s proved very helpful.

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Posted in: hospice

Tis a puzzlement

So, here's an interesting tidbit. A patient of mine "Sally," was recently released from the nursing home rehab center after having surgery on her back. After her surgery, her family, which consists of a sister and some nieces and nephews really pushed for her to go into an assisted living home. Sally didn't want to leave the home that she owns and worked hard all her life for. So she went back to her home and has been under the care of our home health nurses for the last few weeks. Her nurse referred me to her after she started talking about how she doesn't have any food or money.

Sally is an interesting woman. She likes to have people take care of her, and she is very limited in what she can do, yet at the same time she insists that she does not need help. It's kind of a puzzlement to me. Sally was also very affluent in her earlier life, and she is used to having all kinds of luxuries that she does not have access to anymore. She is frustrated with herself for not being as independent as she used to be. Her family is frustrated with her for not listening to them and moving to an assisted living facility. Her nurses, occupational therapist, and I are all a little frustrated with the whole situation because she has a right to stay in her home if she chooses, but we can see how enhanced her quality of life would be if she chose instead to move to a place where she could get the care she needs. The nurses and therapists are ready to dscharge her, and once they are gone, I can't continue to see her. But I can't in good conscious leave her alone in her home with no assistnce or care. I don't think she'll realize how much help she really needs and make an effort to get it until we discharge her, but I don't feel good about discharging her until she has that help. But she won't ask for it until we're no longer making visits.

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Posted in: hospice,social work ethics

This life is the time to prepare

I can see where working with terminally ill patients can be difficult. The first patient that I ever visited as a hospice social worker passed away last week. She was a lovely patient to visit, and she has a wonderful, supportive family. Four days prior to her passing, I visited her and she was sitting up in her chair applying makeup and chatting amicably with us. Three days later, the nurse informed me that she was on her way out. That evening, she was gone.

Having never really dealt with the death of a loved one in my life, I have a hard time understanding the emotions that go through an individual’s mind as they watch their loved ones decline in health. Grief is a complicated thing. A lot goes into the process. I recently got put in charge of the grief and bereavement process, and so I am learning a lot about how people grieve. I work real closely with a chaplain and I absolutely love the fact that I can bring spirituality into this. People are so close to God at this unique time in their lives, and so I love the fact that we can freely discuss spiritual principles in a public setting.

I am looking for more information on the bereavement process. I am trying to study and learn about how different people grieve and how they heal. I am getting the hang of the healing process myself, but I need to learn more about the grieving process. Interesting. Hmm. I think I need to study more.

One thing I’ve learned in the month of living and working here is that there are many things that we can do to prepare ourselves so that the end of our lives are as non-stressful as possible. People on their deathbed shouldn’t have to worry about Medicaid applications. They shouldn’t have to worry about paying for a Notary or appointing a power of attorney. They should all be able to focus their energy on their family, preparing for the next life, and dying peacefully, pain-free, and worry-free. It really is important to figure those things out now, so that we have the time and energy later in life to focus on what really matters at that time.

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Posted in: Elderly,hospice